Gladiator
by DevilRed03
Summary: Ruby Rose was a Valesian scout turned prisoner of war until she was bought by Roman Torchwick from Mistral's slave market. Now she is known as the Reaper - Champion of the Arena. Weiss Schnee is an Altesian merchant's daughter looking to expand the business by opening up a branch company in the Kingdom of Mistral. All they have in common at first is Mistral's Great Stone Coliseum.
1. Welcome to the Arena

Well here we go, another story to kick around with.

 **Fair warning: through out this story there will be some graphic content, such as references to sexual assault - so please be prepared.**

As far as inspiration goes, I've been meaning to write a very loose Spartacus theme set in ancient Remnant.

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The sands.

The arena.

The crowd.

The Mistrali heat that beat down on her.

The blood of her opponent that stained the ground beneath her feet.

Eyes that once burned like hot iron in the forge had grown cold into dull steel.

Reaper – the word began as a whisper.

Reaper – like wild fire it began to spread.

Reaper! – As if the flood gates of Mistral's dams had broken free into the very arena.

The Reaper looked about the Arena as the crowds cheered, they cheered for the slave. Off in the marble stands stood her Master – she loathed the man for whom she served. The man who made the prisoner of war into his slave.

Dressed in an elegant cloth that made up his white and red toga, Roman Torchwick held his arms open wide as the crowd hailed him further, the man who owned the Champion of the Arena. With an exaggerated motion, he brought a finger to his lips – and the crowd complied as silence swept across the great Coliseum.

Her gaze was as worn down as the iron gladius in her hand; it waited for the pending judgment that would befall on to her opponent.

His arm outstretched with his thumb held in a neutral position. Predictably, his hand turned downward – forever sealing her opponents fate.

Ruby Rose turned by the heel to her opponent with her sword at the ready, shield long forgotten in the sand beside her. The gladiator before her was on his knees, a blank look on his face as he looked her in the eyes.

"It was an honor." He muttered.

She returned the gesture with a quick and painless death.

One day this slave will once again taste freedom, but for now The Champion of Mistral's Arena remained stoic as the stadium erupted in a roar.

A gesture that had been well rehearsed time and time before made the stadium erupt into even louder cheers. The blood stained gladius held high above her head as they began to chant her namesake of Reaper – a term that Roman Torchwick had cleverly coined during her first match.

The colossal iron gates could be heard creaking open, as it was the gladiator's cue to exit the stage. The massive stone coliseum before her did not cease their thunderous applauses as it became apparent the crowd was hungry for more. Her name echoed off the hallways that took her deeper beneath the arena where the other slaves, criminals, and even volunteers from the Mistrali Army awaited their turn – for either their chance towards freedom, death, or glory.

Two guards to escort her back to her holding cell in the arena flanked the infamous Reaper. On the way, the sharp silver gaze locked eyes with three feeble and rather meek looking slaves. Their jaws were as hollow as their eyes as it was obvious they were malnourished. The swords they held already seemed too heavy for their arms as they barely managed to hold it up with both hands. On the back of one the slave's arms, she caught sight of a long, serpentine like cut – from her experience Ruby knew it to be an injury from a whip.

The three men were dressed in armor that was no doubt taken from the corpses of those who had perished in the coliseum. Their gear had seen better days, especially when compared to Ruby's. She wore light armor that allowed for maximum movement and didn't hinder her agility in the slightest. On both forearms she wore metal vambraces that had blocked dozens of blades aimed for her head. Her dark colored breeches were tucked into her leather boots that were strapped half way up her calf. A sword belt rested on right hip, it was rare to see a left-handed gladiator – but it added to her unique charm. Her hair was kept short for practicality in fighting, but you could see the red tips forming at the end. But most of all, her equipment was kept in good order instead of the slight rust and ruin of the men opposite of her.

Ruby knew that these three men were walking towards certain death. A roar from a great beast could be heard from the arena. If she had to guess from the roar alone, she supposed that the three were getting ready to fight a great Mistrali tiger.

A second roar could be heard, followed by a distinct sound of chains being let loose.

The gladiator changed her guess to two tigers.

The gladiator didn't need to look over her shoulder to watch the iron gate roll down to seal the fate of the three slaves into the arena.

Upon entering the holding cell area, Ruby had forfeited her sword to the guards.

"Good fight Ruby," Another of Roman's slave and also gladiator waited to fight next, "That was one of Schnee's best gladiators." Sun commented as he held a thumbs up inside the holding cell. His blond hair was matted and short, but the tanned skin, infectious smile, and wave of his tail was a staple for the monkey Faunus. A wink from those dashing blue eyes of his was more than enough to make a woman swoon.

As well as fall into bed with him.

The guards locked the iron bar door behind her as she took a seat on the ground next to her friend. He was dressed in a similar fashion as Ruby as he also favored his agility in a fight. It was always a debate between the two of who was faster.

But they already knew hands down who the better fighter was.

Ruby shrugged, "It was nothing…. Really, it wasn't anything special." She sighed as she looked up at the ceiling; the guards locked her in the holding cell with her fellow slave. "What else do we have to look forward to now? We fight day in and day out, we're like damned dogs to this fucking Torchwick-"

"Hold your tongue Reaper! You will address your master properly _._ " A guard warned, Ruby responded by spitting at the ground in front of her.

"Awfully wound up today Rubes," The nickname fell from Sun's lips.

"I had a dream last night." The sandy dirt that surrounded her was soft to against her calloused fingertips; she rested her head against the stonewall. "Of my time before all this."

"When you were a scout in Vale's army?" Sun questioned, the two sat side by side as the roar of the arena could be heard echoing still. The faint roar of Mistral's famed tiger could be heard. The Faunus knew that it was the 'taming of the Beast' event, where they would pit less experienced fighters or slaves against great beasts and some times even captured Grimm. It was always a spectacle to watch prey squirm, and by prey it was usually the inexperience slave that was thrown in there for entertainment's sake.

Ruby shook her head, "Yeah, I had a dream about the day I enlisted into the army." The red head sighed heavily as she once again attempted to bury that gut wrenching feeling that she would never go home.

It had been two years since the enemy kingdom had captured Ruby.

Now her she was, 21 years old and simply treated as a mere play thing. The title of 'Reaper' or 'Champion of the Arena' didn't mean as much to her as it did for her master. When the former scout first started out in the arena, it was actually supposed to be a punishment for her because she had disobeyed a direct order from Roman Torchwick: To give sexual favor to his guests during his famous and elaborate parties that were often the talk of the kingdom.

Ruby had refused, especially after what happened the first night she was in Torchwick's care…

With a shaky breath, the gladiator shook her head and forced the unpleasant thoughts from her mind. She could feel her body begin to shake at the thought of _that_ night… She was a virgin, for Oum's sake.

"Ruby…" A large hand was placed on the smaller girl's back, at first the Rose tensed up at the touch, but Sun already knew what to do as he lightly rubbed a spot between her shoulders, "You doing alright?" The Faunus already had a good idea of what his friend was thinking about, there wasn't much that made Ruby shake like leaf in the wind.

"Y-Yeah…" Ruby steadied herself with another deep breathe, "I… I was just thinking about how thankful I am to be his best gladiator. Despite how much of a devil _Master_ Torchwick is." The venom was transparent in her voice, the guards merely casted a sideways glance at the silver eyed gladiator before leaving the two slaves alone.

Sun sighed as he let his hand rest on the younger girl's back. Ever since the two met, he always thought of the red head as a little sister. "Not much we can do, if anything, we have a better master than some of the other slaves around here. Not to mention our living conditions are much better than some of the others, we have bedding, food, and not to mention an actual roof over our heads." The older gladiator referred to some of the slaves that were kept on big farms or forced to work in terrible conditions for some of the big name merchants.

A long sigh escaped from Ruby, "I really hate it when you're right."

Sun chuckled, "Can't help it." The former thief ran his fingers across the black Dust collar around his neck. It symbolized their status as slaves and also functioned as a tracker for their Master should they attempt escape. It was impossible to remove unless you had the key to unlock it, which Torchwick possessed.

Silence ensued between the two; the roars of the beasts were no more as the applause from the crowd thundered through out the underground holding cells.

'I wonder how Ren and Nora are doing now?' The gladiator breathed in deep, if circumstances had been slightly different, her two friends could have ended up in this cruel fate as well. Ruby smiled slightly, she was glad to spare the two of such a fate. Surely the two lovebirds (even if they wouldn't say it out loud) would have been separated if forced into this life of slavery.

"Friends, huh?" Ruby looked to the Faunus that sat next to her. Sun sat back with his hands behind his head, as he seemed to have no care or worry in the world.

Even though Sun Wukong was next up on the list of people fighting a death match for the sake of Mistral's entertainment.

"What's wrong Rubes?" Sun raised a brow at the younger girl, he knew when to keep quiet and let the young gladiator have time to sort out her thoughts.

Ruby shrugged, "Nothing much." She watched as a runner came to let the guards know that Sun was to be let out for his match, "When do you think they'll let us go home?"

"Probably after I whip whatever gladiator the Schnee's have brought along." Sun stood expectantly at the iron bar door, his hands held out in front to show that he had nothing on his person. It was procedure deeply ingrained into the two at this point. Ruby kept her knees tucked to her face, they used to be kept in chains, but the two gladiators knew their place well enough that Torchwick allowed them to not wear them. And the fact that the guards knew the two weren't stupid enough to attempt escape.

The second guard handed Sun his sword belt, which held two gladius on it. The gladiator expertly put the belt on as he reveled in the familiar weight of his weapons.

"I meant home, as in Vale and Menagerie." The young gladiator tried again.

The man who stood guard for Ruby and Sun's cell couldn't contain his scoff as he took the Faunus outside and locked the door once more, "A mere prisoner and thief shouldn't hold such childish ideals. You're both property of the Mistrali Kingdom and Master Roman Torchwick now. Remember your place, slave." The guard spat that last line out at Ruby as he helped to escort Sun up to the arena. The Faunus shot a look of remorse over his shoulder as he made way to stadium above.

Ruby made a face before tugging at the slim Dust collar around her neck that signified her status.

Oum be damned if she were to die a slave for an enemy kingdom.

Ruby closed her eyes as she finally allowed her weary body to get some rest before she would be carted off back to the Torchwick Villa.

In her dreams, she caught sight of lilac eyes, hair that burned gold, and the smell of the forest.

"Careful there, I'm fragile goods right now!" Sun's voice snapped Ruby out of her temporary peace.

She immediately caught sight of the sword wounds he sustained on his arms and chest; the leather armor was ruined as it was littered with sword markings. On his right wrist she could see that a bruise was already forming. The guard that was half dragging the limping gladiator finally let go and watched with uncaring eyes as Sun fell into a heap.

Ruby glared and bit the inside of her cheek, she knew back talking would only make the situation worse as she watched the iron bar door close and be locked. The two guards walked away from the holding cell, presumably to fetch Torchwick's slaver to bring the two back to the Torchwick Villa.

"What happened?" Ruby noticed the way Sun clutch his right knee, she feared it to be broken.

"It's just sprained, I fell over after he bashed me with his shield. Looks like the Schnee's got a hold of someone pretty good." Sun chuckled to himself, "Of course it's my luck to face off against a Valesian commander."

It clicked in Ruby's mind, a commander that was good with his shield, "You're talking about Jaune Arc, the 'Shield of Vale'." It was no secret that Vale was struggling in the war against Mistral; this much was true once Atlas began to lend some support to their ally.

Sun nodded, "Master Schnee gave a speech officially introducing him before we fought, he and his platoon were captured while defending the Valesian Main Army's retreat from Mistral's western shore about 2 months ago." He placed a hand on a rather deep gash on his left triceps, Ruby tore off a piece of the ragged tunic she wore and tied it off on the wound to help stop the bleeding.

"Better?" She tied a knot over the gash.

"Much," Sun smiled to the smaller girl, "If they managed to push Vale off the Anima continent entirely, then I don't think your kingdom will fare much better in the war." The Faunus' smile faltered at the thought, he wanted Vale to win the war and see his friend find freedom once more.

"It's not over yet." Ruby said with conviction, she had been a scout in the Valesian Army for 3 years once the war started.

The year of Ruby's 19th birthday is when the territory war had broken out between Vale and Mistral. The eastern kingdom wished to claim the northern island of Vytal as their territory. The current king of Vale did not take kindly to this land grab.

Negotiations turned to debate, debate turned into a search for compromise, compromise turned into a disagreement, and soon conflict was born from it all.

Ruby had heard rumors that the Mistrali military detachment on Vytal had struck first, she had also heard rumors that it was the Valesian guard that had provoked the event and that the Mistrali soldiers were merely trying to defend themselves.

The young scout didn't give a damn at the time, because either way it turned into a war. And with the war came more coin for those in the army to fight.

Eight months after the proclamation of war is when Ruby was captured as a prisoner of war and subsequently sold off into Mistral's slavery.

The distinct clicking of boots could be heard in cell holding's cobble path that led the way around. Ruby looked up to see the mismatched colored eyes and distinct brown and pink colored tones that made up Neo's hair. The neat and laundered collared white tunic was tucked into the brown leather corset; the gladiator knew from experience that she kept a few hidden blades tucked away there. She wore form fitting brown pants that were tucked into her white boots. At her left hip, she wore a long sword.

The slaver didn't say a word as Ruby obediently made way and left Sun's side. Neo walked into the room with a distinct air of dominance over the two. She looked over Sun with calculating eyes; the Faunus merely sat there, as standing was a daunting task with his sprained knee. Pale pink and brown eyes stared into Ruby's silver ones. A brown satchel containing medical supplies were given to the gladiator, Neo walked away as she went back to the way she came, the door was left open.

Even without the guards there, Ruby still knew better.

With the aloe balm smattered across Sun's cuts, she began to wrap some bandages around his arms to help keep the dirt out. Distinct sounds of steel knocking against stonewall echoed through the cells – Ruby knew that Neo wanted them to hurry up.

"Thanks Rubes." Sun let out weakly as his body ached from the beating he received, "Sorry to do this to you." The two traversed down the familiar hallways, they reached the incline that would take them back above ground.

"You've helped me out plenty of times before." Ruby had the bag slung across her chest as she helped Sun make way to the horse drawn cart that waited for them at the exit of Mistral's Great Stone Coliseum. The area directly outside of their exit was guarded by a detail of six; it was well known that this part of the coliseum was the slave entrance.

Neo already sat next to the horse cart driver, she had her legs crossed and passed a glance at the two. Ruby nodded to the girl and helped Sun into the back of the cart before hoisting herself up.

With a crack of a whip, the cart lurched forward as Sun held on to Ruby for some support.

Back inside the Coliseum, a certain Roman Torchwick in his fine tunic held out his cup for another pour of wine. The marble stands that were reserved for the elite class were beginning to empty out as the Coliseum's events were brought to a close when his gladiator faced off against Jacques Schnee's champion.

"However did you come across Commander Arc before I did?" Roman mused as he sipped from his cup.

Jacques chuckled, "Atlas had sent some of our finest to augment Mistral's military, General Ironwood being one of them. Ironwood helped out with the battle to oust Vale from the Anima continent, his unit was the one that captured Commander Arc. Once the Shield of Vale was captured, Ironwood sent word to me about him and I capitalized on the venture straight away." He wore a distinct white grand and elaborate toga with light blue borders. The cloth looked as luxurious as Torchwick's.

"Makes sense, I usually get the first pick of the litter whenever a fresh haul comes in, I was just surprised that you managed to swindle him away right in front of me." A light joke as both men laughed.

Jacques motioned to the woman sitting to his right, "But I can't take all the credit, my dear Weiss over here actually proposed the whole ordeal herself as she was the one to arrange the agreement with General Ironwood."

"Thank you, Father." Weiss smiled slightly to the man as she raised the wine cup to her lips. She too wore white robes bordered in the same blue as her father did. Her hair was kept loose and down as the silk like tendrils fell over her left shoulder. "I thought it was a shame that the Schnee's didn't have a great gladiator of their own that could hold a candle to the Reaper."

"A fine fighter she turned out to be." Torchwick mused with a wicked glint in his eyes, "Even though her initial purpose wasn't for this bloody sport, it still worked out charmingly."

"I suppose she was originally for _entertainment_ in the Villa at first?" Jacques questioned, he was a frequent guest at Torchwick's Villa and could always be found at those famed parties.

"You could say that," The slave master shrugged, "But now she's a rather popular fighter here, the crowd loves her because she was an underdog – not to mention her swordplay is top notch. The way she handles a gladius is beautiful, like poetry almost."

"She made my poor gladiator look like a boy holding a sword for the first time, I've never seen someone move as fast as she does." The Schnee patriarch questioned, he looked over the nearly empty arena. "That gladiator was a part of Arc's personal guard too, apparently he was supposed to be talented with the sword." A careless shrug as Jacques took another sip, "Not talented enough for the Reaper, apparently."

"She's been doing this for a while now, nearly undefeated in the gladiator matches. Not to mention she's a treat to watch during the 'Taming of the Beast'. Why, she brought down a whole pack of Beowolves by herself once! A pack of _Grimm_ , for Oum's sake she's a monster!" Torchwick exclaimed with such gusto and vigor.

Weiss likened the man to a child talking about his favorite toy.

"If you're free tonight, I'll be throwing a party to celebrate the Reaper's 20th victory in the arena." Torchwick stood and his personal guard that went by the name of Junior flanked him. "As always, enough food, wine, and _entertainment_ for everyone to gorge themselves in. Hope to see you there, Jacque. And you too Snowflake." The slave master walked off with a wink.

"We'll be there!" Jacques called out, "I'll be sure to visit more once you take over the branch base here." The Schnee patriarch had a certain deep appreciation for Mistral's culture.

"I'd be sad if you didn't," Weiss responded as she followed her father to their awaiting carriage outside the Coliseum.

Weiss hummed, even if she didn't hold Torchwick in a favorable personal light, the man was a key business partner to the Schnee Merchant Company. So that meant that she too had to learn to play and enjoy in the pleasures and niceties of the Mistrali culture. It didn't differ too much from Altesian customs as both countries had slaves. But what made Mistral distinct were two things – their love of lust and violence.

Weiss thought to Roman Torchwick's champion – the Reaper, she knew how to cater to the crowd's love of violence, as her fighting style of dismembering an opponent was so distinct. And then his other champion, the Faunus known as the Monkey King, she could easily count on both hands how many Mistrali _nobles_ had taken the playful gladiator to bed.

She could easily see how slave master Torchwick was so well liked by the Mistrali elite – he owned two slaves that were the very embodiment of lust and violence.

And he absolutely basked in all of it.

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Hope you guys enjoyed the read.

Cheers,

DevilRed


	2. A Party in Your Honor

I meant to post this with chapter one, but I realized I never his the submit button.

I'm glad you guys enjoyed the first chapter.

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Green eyes looked the slave up and down as he sat at a luxurious white marble slab desk that stood on bronze legs. He squinted his eyes as he ran a hand through his orange hair; he sat back in his wooden chair. With his legs now crossed leisurely, he folded his arms as he looked at the numbers he had just added below.

"Do you know how much I lost with you?" Roman began in a steady tone.

Sun stared blankly at the white marble desk in front of him, his blue eyes flicked to the grand balcony behind his master as he caught a brief glimpse of the spring sunset. The view from Torchwick's second floor office was breath taking.

However, now was not the time for pleasantries. Uncomfortably, he shift what weight he could off of his sprained knee.

"No, Master." The usual mirth was gone.

"500 gold lien." Torchwick replied steadily. With 12 bronze lien, you could get a decent meal and room at local inn. With 5 gold lien, you could outfit a soldier with brand new gear.

The Faunus remained silent as he made a slight face, "…What would you have me do, Master?" His voice still meek, his gaze trained at the ground.

Roman smiled as he sat up, he picked up the sheet of paper before him as he went over the numbers again. "You're in luck, I won 1400 gold lien from Red's fight, so our losses are covered. However, the fact that I lost out on 500 gold lien, well, that doesn't sit too well with me." The paper was set back down, "There's a party tonight, here at the Villa. I want you to gain favor with Lady Dew Gayl."

Sun lifted his eyes as he recognized the more pleasant tone in his master's voice, "Lady Dew Gayl." He repeated to affirm that he was listening.

Roman smiled at his slave's manners, well trained. "I've noticed she has taken a liking to you, and her husband is away fighting the good fight against Vale." His green eyes darted to Neo who stood in the corner, at the entrance of the office was his other henchmen, Junior. "Entice her, but don't do anything she hasn't paid for. Lady Gayl has much coin in her purse that I would like to make good use of."

Sun knew exactly what he needed to do for his Master, "Understood." He was used to being pawned off like this.

"Good." Torchwick waved his hand, "Junior, take him back to compound. Ensure Monkey King, Reaper, and the two new gladiator hopefuls are washed up and ready to go for this evening. Tell Melanie to bring out the nice oils for them and do get Miltiades to attend to the Faunus' wounds. I wouldn't want my product to go bad." The instruction came.

The man called Junior who wore black colored breeches and tunic with a short sword strapped to his side nodded as he motioned the gladiator to follow him. Neo nodded her head as she followed the two out the door.

Or at least she tried until a rather loud stage cough interrupted her.

Green eyes that burned into her mismatched ones told a different story of what she had originally planned. With a sly smile, Neo grabbed the oak door and proceeded to close it. With the grace of a fox, she slowly strutted over to the marble desk and carefully looked over the different scrolls and paperwork that were organized on top of it.

A simple sweep of her arm and the tabletop was cleared as she took an elegant seat on top of the cold marble.

"You're going to have to clean that up later." Roman's hands touched the inside of her thighs tantalizingly, the slaver complied as her legs spread apart. With a clever grin, Neo brought her hands to the shoulders of the slave master, tracing their outline softly before running her hands down his exposed biceps. With a firm grasp, she held on to those strong biceps – she knew how much the action stroked Roman's ego.

With a gasp, Neo felt her form being pulled closer to the slave master and a familiar pressure being applied against her nether regions. The hard member was being slowly grinded up against her, which caused a small sense of pleasure to ignite deep within her belly. She loved it when Torchwick wore his fine toga, especially with how readily available and accessible his cock was. Which she was exploiting at the moment as her careful and gentle hands maneuvered through the fine cloth before firmly grasping the hard cock.

Roman's eyes rolled skywards to the great god Oum himself as he felt the head of member being teased in just the right way. "For fuck's sake, you know how riled up I always get after those gladiator matches." The slave master growled as he roughly pulled down the breeches to his slaver.

Her pussy proved to be ready by the time Torchwick's fingers traced the folds, a long string of her juices clung to the tip of his fingers when he pulled away. His cock twitched in excitement as the anticipation to plunge deep within the woman ran through his entire being.

If there was one thing Roman enjoyed the most, it was fucking this Neo after a long day of work.

Meanwhile, in the slave compound of the Villa, the four specified slaves bathed. The prospect gladiators waited their turn to soak in the large bath that currently Ruby and Sun relaxed in. They simply knelt and waited _patiently_ for their turn to finally get clean, this would be their first bath in what seemed to be days. Seniority and rank among the slaves were strictly upheld; the two weary gladiator prospects had learned that the hard way. They weren't even done yet with the required training that the slaver Neo was putting them through.

Their muscles were worn down and the hot water felt glorious against them.

Junior stood by the bath entrance, but not for Sun and Ruby, but to ensure that the two prospects were properly bathed and knew where they needed to go to get prepared for tonight.

"Lady Gayl is at the top of my list tonight." Sun mentioned as he looked over his wounds, the bleeding stopped, but he knew that he would have to treat the deep gash on his left arm. The older gladiator had taken care to rinse off before stepping into the communal tub, he knew that his blood staining the water would have irritated Ruby. In the low lighting coming from the fire dust crystals that decorated the interior of the whole slave encampment revealed the Monkey King himself to be in the buff. His chiseled abs glistened against the light as he splashed the warm water on his broad chest.

Ruby shrugged, equally as nude as her companion next to her, "Any particular reason?" A clear deep scar ran across her chest, she had both her arms propped up on the worn marble edge of the communal bath. A few scars were littered across her torso as well – marks of glory from the arena.

"Master Torchwick thinks that she could be a recurring _guest_ , her husband is away for the war." Sun explained, "A cash cow ready to spend her husband's hard earned money."

"For your services of course." Silver eyes closed as she leaned back into the water, "The only thing I like about these parties is when they let us bathe in the hot water." Usually the water would always be cold and bathing was more of a business ordeal rather than the current bliss both gladiators were currently experiencing. She breathed in deep the scent of the bath oils as the bathing room smelled absolutely delightful. The smell of lavender was thick, instead of the regular mildew and blood that usually lingered in the baths.

"Where's Wukong?" Miltiades appeared with an impatient look on her face, "Come down with me to the infirmary so that I can treat your wounds now." She demanded, the Malachite twin was dressed in regular robes that had a deep red theme to them. Like Junior, she wore no slave collar on her neck, unlike the rest of the occupants in the room.

Sun sighed, as he would have liked to stay in the warm water longer, a towel was handed to him by one of the gladiator prospects that still waited to get into the large tub. With a nod of his head, Sun began to towel off before throwing his breeches on. He followed the twin to the infirmary with a slight limp now, his knee doing much better after soaking in the hot water.

"You two, go ahead and get clean. Make sure to take extra care as Master Torchwick will not take kindly to sub par hygiene." Ruby instructed as she too was given a towel by the two prospects. She hadn't bothered to learn the newbies names just yet.

The splashing of water could be heard as the two practically jumped into the communal bath before the water turned cold.

With the towel loosely around her shoulders, Ruby didn't bother to put on her usual ragged tunic and breeches she wore around the compound and in the arena. Melanie would have thrown a fit and sent her back to the bath where the water would be much colder and not as clean as when she first stepped in. Two long scars could be seen on her back in a cross shape – some times the crack of the whip would cause the young gladiator to flinch, other times she's able to drown out the sound.

The slave knew where she had to go to get dressed as she held her dirty clothes in hand.

Roman's villa was grand as it was built from fine stones and solid marble. The Mistrali long white columns decorated the entrance's exterior and a long white stone staircase led to the double door entrance to the Villa. Inside the villa had a waiting room at the entrance, and one taken down the hallway you were treated to the sight of the famous open area that slaves, food, and wine were available every where. Upon further exploration there was a parlor with luxurious seats decorated in fine fur and other comfortable blankets and a first floor viewing area of the large sandy courtyard that Torchwick's slaves trained in to become full fledged gladiators.

Pending they survive the training.

The second floor contained more parlors and rooms for the guests, as well as Roman's personal office. A grand balcony over looked the courtyard as well. Then came the underground level that had tunnels that ran to the slave encampment. There was a couple of rooms in this underground that were the living quarters for Roman's more _graceful_ products. These slaves were kept clean at all times and were well versed in Mistrali courtesies and cooking, they were a mix of beautiful males and females as they not only worked as servants, but as _entertainment_ as well.

Across the courtyard was the slave's encampment; in stark contrast to the grand villa the encampment was built out of simple stone and wood, just the bare minimum to keep the elements out. The entirety of the courtyard and the slave encampment was surrounded by a high stonewall and solid iron gates that led directly into the courtyard.

Ruby walked through the underground tunnels that were lit by the fire dust crystal; a guard that stood at the iron gate that sectioned off the Villa's tunnel entrance from the slave encampment was present. With a nod, the guard unlocked the gate and allowed Ruby to pass through. She knew exactly which room on the underground floor to go to.

On her way she caught sight of the sex slaves quarters, which were much more luxurious than her own, but she paid it no mind as she would much rather be a gladiator than… that.

"Red!" Melanie exclaimed in her fine Mistrali style dressed, "So glad you're here, now put this on for the guests tonight." She hummed as she pointed to the fine clothing and polished armor that was on a table. Melanie took the rags from the gladiator's hand and tossed them into a bin to be washed. Ruby put on the black tunic and breeches and proceeded to strap on the leather boots she usually wore in the arena. The armor was made from the finest metal and was decorated in black and red themes and carvings, on her chest piece in the center was a menacing wolf head, and her shoulder pads were carved with a rose. The metal vambraces had a similar theme to them; all of this had never seen a day in the arena as Torchwick had this made specifically for the parties.

To complete the look, a blood red cape was neatly folded on the table. Melanie took a little time to look over Ruby as she took a cloth to polish off any blemishes on the shiny armor.

"You make many Mistrali Commanders and Generals jealous with this look." Melanie smiled as she handed the cape to Ruby; the slave complied as she fastened it around her neck. "Last two things." A large emblem with the Kingdom of Mistral's brand on it was in one hand, the other an ornate gladius with a dull edge. Ruby bit the inside of her cheek as she clasped the emblem on the right side of the red cloak she wore, the gladius she attached at her right hip with the sword belt.

"Thank you, Lady Malachite." Ruby replied humbly with a bowed head.

Melanie was pleased with the token of appreciation, "Now head on upstairs, Neo should be waiting in the parlor room." She instructed.

With a trained gait, her path automatically brought her to the parlor room, there she took a familiar spot in the center of the room and waited with her hands behind her back for either the slaver or her master to address her.

Roughly 20 minutes had passed; Sun had made his way to the parlor as well. Like Ruby, Torchwick had a fine set of armor made for the Monkey King.

Sun wore no chest piece while he was in his ornate gear, his tanned chest and abs were always readily seen at all of these party. On his right arm it was fully armored as the ornate white scales decorated in gold designs made it's way elegantly to the top of his shoulder. A leather strap could be seen running across his chest to keep the armor in place. On his left forearm he wore vambraces that were decorated in the same white and gold theme. His breeches were a sharp white that tucked into his leather boots; a blue scarf could be seen around his neck with Mistral's emblem pinned on the right side there. On his sword belt were two ornate gladius, the edge dull as well.

Ruby spotted the sword wound on his chest and saw that the Malachite twin had treated the gash on his left arm.

"You ready for this?" Sun muttered softly, he had a keen sense of hearing due to his Faunus trait and would know when anyone was approaching the room.

"As I'll ever be." Ruby sighed, "Any idea why they're bringing up the brand new guys? I would have thought Bolin and Nadir would have been brought out." Roman had a total of 4 successful gladiators out of the herd of 25 he had. These 4 were given special treatment due to their skill and success in the arena while the rest worked hard to gain the same fame and notoriety. Roman called his successful ones 'The Core Four'.

Sun grimaced for a second as he thought it through, "We might be doing a demonstration."

"Oh joy." Ruby sighed, she recalled the last time she was forced to kill a prospect during a demonstration inside the villa. "Let's hope that we put on a good enough show then." She eyed the two prospects as they came out with Junior in tow. They wore standard armor that could be found on a regular Mistral soldier, they paled in comparison to the two gladiators.

Two additional sets of footsteps could be heard as Roman entered the parlor with Neo at his side, a particularly refreshed look was transparent on his face as he took a seat on one of the couches.

His green eyes looked into the dull silver ones and a smile ignited, "Tonight, we're throwing a celebration in your honor, Red."

* * *

The smell of wine was mixed in with fine perfumes, the fire dust crystals lit up the open area of the Villa, and one side of the room was lined with fine curtains that were sectioned off to create 'private' rooms. Roman's famed slaves were dressed in fine silks as they were paraded around the room. Each slave knew exactly what to do before pulling aside a party goer into a more secluded section of the villa, Roman charged 3 gold coins for certain _favors._

Faintly mixed in with the sound of the partygoer's casual conversations were muffled moans and groans. But such things were normal here, especially at a Lord Torchwick party.

The other side of the room was lined with various foods for the guests, while slaves walked around carrying small casks of wine to ensure everyone's cup was full.

Close to the center of the room and on a podium stood the four slaves, the Reaper and the Monkey King stood in the middle while the two prospects stood on either side of them. Guests would often come up to the podium, admiring the gladiators as if they were some work of art. Every now and then a guest would request a flourish of the sword, to which either Sun or Ruby would step down and do as such.

"They're well trained and disciplined Roman!" One guest shouted to the man who sat in a large couch that over looked his gladiators.

"Lady Neo does a wonderful job as their slaver, I owe a lot of my success to her." Roman motioned to the woman in question who was now dressed in white and pink robes; her hair was done in loose curls now.

The slaver smiled and nodded towards Torchwick before taking another sip from her glass of wine.

Ruby kept a straight face through it all as she resisted the urge to attempt to bury the dull gladius into her master's chest. She didn't want any of her foolish actions to punish the others.

"Let's say we let this lad have a go?" Another guest pointed to one of the prospects, Ruby looked over and saw the prospect's eyes go wide; surely he caught on to what could be happening next.

"I'd rather see this one fight, his blue hair color is absolutely exotic." A female guest pointed to the other prospect, "Not to mention his eyes are blue too, the Monkey King knows how I feel about blue eyes." She winked to Sun, who flashed a charming smile in return.

A woman dressed in green robes was spotted out of the corner of Sun's eye, she appeared to be walking out to the outdoor viewing area - alone. He flicked his gaze to his master, Torchwick nodded his head in response and wordlessly Sun left the podium to work his way through the crowd to where Lady Dew Gayl headed.

"It's decided then!" Roman announced as the entirety of the room's attention was on him. "The blue headed prospect will have a friendly go at the Reaper."

"Would you mind if I oversaw this match, Roman?" A new voice piped up, Ruby looked over at whom the new arrival was. Light blue eyes were locked into silver ones.

Ruby Rose would have sworn an eternity passed before she was aware of where she was again.

Weiss Schnee broke her gaze away form the Reaper, she ran a hand through those soft curls before letting fall over her left shoulder once more. In her other was a cup of wine. "I've been curious to see what it's like, after all – you make it seem so much fun in the Great Stone Coliseum."

Torchwick smiled as he looked over Weiss, he spotted Jacques chatting up one of his favorite products, a rather popular slave among all the men there. "Of course you may, my dear Snowflake." He motioned to take a seat on the couch next to him, "As you can see, this is the best seat in the house. Watch carefully, and to your best judgment – cast whatever choice is befitted for the spectacle you are about to see."

"I'll do my best then." The Schnee heiress flashed an elegant smile to her business partner.

"Reaper and…" Roman paused as he squinted his eyes at the blue haired man, "What's your name, son?"

"…Neptune." He let out.

"Of course! The ruler of the seas!" Roman exclaimed, the crowd cheered at his enthusiasm. "Draw your swords and come here to the center." He motioned to his slaves.

Ruby and Neptune complied, the gladiator was the first to turn and face Neptune with her sword drawn. The prospect nearly dropped his sword when he tried to mirror Ruby's actions.

"Don't hold back." The Reaper stated loud enough for Neptune to hear.

He didn't quite understand why the gladiator would say as much.

"By your command, Lady Weiss." Roman bowed to her before taking a seat.

"Thank you Lord Roman," Weiss announced with equal enthusiasm in her tone, the crowd cheered as the merchant stood before them. "Reaper!" She memorized the way Roman had done so in the coliseum earlier that day, the gladiator raised her sword hand to the crowd and the partygoers cheered. "Neptune!" She motioned to the prospect; there were some applause and a few hecklers mixed in, "Begin!" Weiss brought down her hand and automatically the two were in a battle stance.

"Well done, Snowflake." Roman commented as he turned his attention to the fight.

Neptune blocked a strike aimed for his torso, another aimed for his shoulders, and then side stepped a thrust aimed for his chest. He barely kept up with the Reaper's speed as the gladiator made it seem effortless with the way she got through his guard with each strike.

"Fight back boy!" Someone jeered, as it was quickly becoming a one-sided fight. Soon the crowd joined in to taunt the prospect into fighting back.

Ruby was quick to lock swords with Neptune, "Fight back, or else they'll kill you." With her right hand, she grabbed the prospect by his chest guard and tossed him clear across the floor.

Neptune rolled into a pile; thankful his sword was dull, as he would have stabbed himself with it. The crowd cheered as Reaper rallied the crowd by proceeding to taunt her opponent, her arms were spread wide and the gladius was held loosely. A smirk was plastered on his lips as those cold eyes bore into Neptune.

It clicked in the prospect's mind.

Wildly, he swiped at the Reaper with his sword. Suddenly the training he received from the slaver kicked in as he swung he sword at the target in front of him. Ruby knew the swordplay that the new comers would learn by heart as Neptune stayed with these textbook basics.

Instead of bringing up her sword to block, she would weave in and out of the blade's way. The crowd went wild as they cheered it on, some of the bystanders were amazed at the confidence the gladiator had.

"She's like a ghost! There's no way he'll even land a hit on her!" Ruby over heard someone from the crowd.

Drawing up her sword, she met Neptune's swing that was aimed for her head. The two once again locked together in place. It was a battle of brute strength to see who could break through the other.

"On your third strike, aim for my chest." Ruby muttered just loud enough for Neptune to hear. The prospect met her eyes and Ruby took that as enough of a sign that her opponent heard her.

The Reaper maneuvered her way through the sword lock, her right elbow fell onto Neptune's thigh and the prospect fell over at the sudden pain. Ruby stood up once more with her sword ready as Neptune took a moment longer to work through the stinging pain in his left leg.

"That's right boy! Keep going!"

Neptune complied as he re-engaged the Reaper. The first strike was for the torso; the second was for her head – both of these the Reaper blocked brilliantly. On the third strike he aimed for her chest as commanded.

A gasp filled the room as the sharp point of Neptune's sword tore a cut across the Reaper's cheek. Dull silver eyes looked into his blue ones before a flash of red was all that the prospect caught next.

With a flourish, Neptune was easily pushed back on the ground and disarmed, his sword made a harsh sound once metal made contact with the stone floor. Once he was out of his haze, he saw the pointed end of the gladius at his neck and the Reaper standing over him, a trail of blood leaking from the cut on her check and down her neck.

The crowd went wild at the spectacle as fast-talking began to spread, the young prospect hand managed to land a hit on the Reaper herself!

"Master Schnee." The Reapers voice was clear and distinct, "What is your judgment?" Her gladius remained trained on the prospect, even though her blade may be dull, if she swung hard and fast enough it could still cut through.

Once more silver eyes locked together with those light blue ones. Instead of breaking her gaze of the slave like the first, she kept it steady on her. Weiss was almost hypnotized by those beautiful eyes that had obviously seen so much in their lifetime.

With her thumb held out in a neutral position, the crowd hushed.

The party broke out into a roar of excitement when her thumb was pointed skyward.

"You'll become a fine gladiator one day." Ruby lowered her sword and proceeded to hook it back on her sword belt.

Weiss' gaze didn't leave the gladiator as she dutifully walked towards Miltiades who had a cloth readily available to clean Ruby's cheeks.

"I see you've taken an interest in the Reaper." Roman observed casually.

Weiss shrugged as she looked towards the man next to her, "I've never seen one so talented and fast before with a sword. And my dear sister, Winter, is a rather famous swordsman in Atlas' army." She took a sip from her wine.

The slave master nodded, "As an appreciation for overseeing the match, how about I loan the Reaper to you as a personal servant for the night. Consider this a favor from a friend, and of course your business partner." A clever grin was on the slave master's face, "It's a rather delightful feeling to make one so powerful tend to your needs."

The merchant had a skeptical look on her face, "What if she were to snap and bury her sword in me?" It was a legitimate concern of hers.

Roman chuckled in his knowing ways, "She would never do that, too well trained. You should know the Torchwick's reputation of having the best and most disciplined slaves around. If you would like, I'll have her remove the sword belt." The slave master already motioned to Neo to bring the gladiator over.

To say Weiss wasn't interested was a lie, and Roman knew this well as the man had an uncanny ability to read others like a book. This was probably one of the main reasons why the Schnee Merchant Company had approached this man first when they were looking to establish a Mistrali headquarters. "If you say it's safe, then I'll have to take your word for it, Roman."

She watched as the second Malachite twin approached the Reaper and removed her sword belt, Neo motioned the gladiator to follow as the two approached Weiss.

"Lady Schnee, I'm at your beck and call for tonight." The Reaper bowed her head; a cask of wine was handed to the gladiator once she stood up straight.

"Make sure you keep my friend here comfortable, Red." Roman instructed, Weiss nodded to the man as she stood from her seat.

"I wish to go to the parlor where it's less noisy and crowded." She commanded, the gladiator nodded.

"Right this way, Lady Schnee."

Weiss followed Ruby into a different section of the Villa, the parlor was empty and the double doors that led to the courtyard were wide open. The spring night was clear as the full moon could be seen overhead.

The slave stood dutifully near the entrance of the parlor.

"Come here now." Weiss motioned as she took a seat on one of the couches.

The Reaper complied as she stood next to the couch.

"Sit down you dunce," Weiss took another look around the room, "It's just us in here, I wanted to talk."

Ruby was nearly bewildered; she had acted as a simple servant many times before in the past for Torchwick's guests. This was the first time that a guest wanted her to _sit_ and _talk._

After a moment's hesitation, Ruby sat down on the luxurious comforts that the softly padded couch brought. She could fall asleep here as this was much more comfortable than her quarters in the compound.

"I heard you instruct that prospect so that he wouldn't be passed poor judgment." The phrase hung in the air; Ruby's eyes went wide at the thought of the repercussions if Torchwick knew too.

"Relax, it was just me as Roman wasn't paying too much attention to the fight as he was the crowd." Weiss cooed, she sipped her wine, "You saved his life."

"I didn't want to spill more blood unnecessarily." The response was simple.

"It was very noble of you." A genuine smile was pass to the gladiator. The Schnee was impressed not only by the slave's swordplay, but her honorable personality as well.

Ruby felt her heart rate pick up at the gesture, suddenly she wanted to run her hand through the fine white locks of hair that looked like silk. She was aware of how the woman in front of her smelled of something sweet, but most of all she was absolutely captivated those mesmerizing eyes that gleamed like diamonds in the light.

"I… I did what felt right." Ruby replied to the merchant.

"Shall we go back to the party then?" Weiss sighed as she finished off the cup of wine.

She found out quickly that she should have not gotten up so fast as the wine she drank began to settle into her system. Weiss nearly fell over and reached her hands out for something to steady herself.

Instead she came crashing into a pair of strong arms and her cheek came in contact with the ornate armor that belonged to the gladiator.

For a brief moment, Weiss felt at home with the arms around her, looking up she saw a pool of silver with a concerned look, "Are you okay, Lady Schnee?" The gladiator voiced.

"I'm fine, I merely stood up to fast after drinking this wine." She motioned to her empty cup, "It happens from time to time, I'm sure."

"We can stay here a little more if you're still feeling unsteady." Ruby threw out.

The Schnee Merchant looked the slave up and down and hummed happily to herself, "I suppose I should then." She looked to the cup in her hand as she proceeded to take a seat back on the couch.

"More wine, please." The empty cup was held out.

Ruby Rose cracked a playful smile as she grabbed the cask of wine and proceeded to fill Lady Weiss Schnee's cup.

* * *

GrnDrgnzrd - hey there old friend, I've been playing around with what to do next for this story as it's been on my mind since I finished Letters. I hope you enjoy this story too!

To everyone else who reviewed, I really appreciate the words and suggestions (Are you not entertained!?). Hopefully you'll stick around to see what I have in store for everyone else I plan to introduce into the story.

Til next time.

Cheers,

DevilRed


	3. The Nail That Sticks Up

Here we go again - words on the fast updates: don't get too used to them. I already had the first four chapters fleshed out, I was just tweaking the story here and there to make sure it was something I was satisfied with.

* * *

The Reaper rolled backwards into the sand as she narrowly avoided the axe falling on to her head. Her shield remained on her arm as she raised it just in time to block the sword of her opponent's partner.

She could feel her heat beat loudly in her ears, as she made herself as flat as possible on the ground to avoid the javelin aimed for her chest that was thrown by her third opponent. Everything seemed to be in slow motion as she cursed the task that was placed before her by her master. It was a spectacle that was meant to be the Reaper's last as she takes a couple weeks of rest from the Arena.

Roman Torchwick would often do this to ensure that the Reaper wasn't over exposed in the Coliseum; it was boring to keep watching a show with the same result over and over again. He would allow other slaves and gladiators to gain some fame and reputation. And once they were on the verge of becoming 'the best', he would send his slave in to once again establish dominance as the true Champion of the Arena.

Quickly she stood to her feet, Ruby's shield was heavy and her sword hand ached as the three opponents surrounded her. Sweat rolled down her face, but she had no time to wipe it away as the one wielding the axe decided to charge in on her right flank, the hairs on her neck stood up straight as she sensed an impeding second strike coming from behind.

On reflex, Ruby rolled forward towards the man who tried to skewer her with a javelin, her right arm raised as it absorbed the blow of the axe. The head of the axe was effectively buried into the shield of the Reaper as the man tried to no avail to wedge it out, simultaneously Ruby buried the gladius in hand all the way to the hilt into the stomach of the poor soul who had the gall to throw a javelin at her just seconds earlier. She heard the sword bearer who tried to strike her back fall into the dirt as his sword missed it's mark.

She twist the hilt of the weapon in the gut of her opponent. His warm life blood began to leak all over her arm once she had done so, she heard a cry of the man's name from the axe wielder as he tried once more to retrieve the weapon stuck on her shield.

The Reaper didn't allow it to happen as she twisted her shield to dislodge the hilt of the axe from the man. The sword bearer who tried to attack her earlier scrambled to his feet, once again he raised his sword with the intention to slam it down on to the Reaper's head.

With the javelin thrower still attached to her sword, she fell on to her back to allow his body to cover her.

"You bitch!" The sword wielder yelled as his blade was met with the back of his partner.

The smaller gladiator rolled to the side and dislodged her sword from the now dead man. Blood was smattered across the Reaper's armor and face as some of it began to mix with her sweat. The now disarmed axe wielder took a couple steps back to get out of range of the Reaper's gladius. She stood to one knee as she raised her shield to block yet another strike from the sword wielder, before he could strike a second time, the Reaper lunged forward to knock the man to ground.

Without skipping a beat, she threw her gladius at the disarmed opponent. A smirk grew on her face as she saw the blade bury itself into the thigh of her opponent. The man who originally held the axe now fell to the ground clutching his leg as he began to scream in pain.

The sword wielder's eyes glowed with hatred as he saw his second friend get injured by her. He was quick to retaliate as his anger and wrath filled his very being, he figured his opponent, who was without her gladius, is now an easy target.

With her left hand Ruby grabbed the hilt of the axe that was buried in her shield, with all her might, with the shield still attached, she swung the blunt side of the axe head into her attacking opponents face. Her shield managed to get dislodged from the axe as it fell to the ground, a large hole could be seen in the center. The force was enough to visibly smash in the attacker's cheek, the gladiator could have sworn she saw a tooth fly out from the man's mouth. With her attacker down on the ground, Ruby grabbed her shield with both hands as she straddled the disoriented man.

With both arms, she brought the edge of the shield down on his neck.

A satisfying crunch could be heard as a gush of red erupted from the man's mouth, the warm liquid bubbled a bit and the Reaper could only guess that he had finally died.

A thunderous commendation erupted throughout the coliseum.

Ruby dropped the shield off to the side as it was now ruined with the hole from the axe. She turned her attention back to her gladius she had thrown earlier, the man laid panting on the sand with the sword still stuck in his leg.

The Reaper placed a foot on axe wielder's hip so that she could swiftly pull out the sword from his leg.

A deafening scream as blood began to pump freely from his thigh, from what Ruby had learned about medicine from Miltiades, there was supposed to be major vein in one's thigh.

With a flourish, a splatter of blood fell from the gladius and made a pattern on the sand.

She looked up towards the marble stand with her sword drawn. Roman Torchwick smirked as he passed judgment down on her remaining opponent.

The Reaper complied by slicing off the man's head.

She could hear the name Reaper being echoed in the stands, she could see bouquets of roses being tossed into the arena, empty cups, empty casks of wine, and even random articles of clothing.

The gladiator stepped around to face different sections of the arena with her sword held high.

The blood of her opponents ran down her face and armor.

Ruby ran her free hand across her face to wipe the sweat and blood from her eyes, her fingers stopped to graze the soft scar on her cheek. It had been nearly a month since Ruby had received this scar from Neptune.

Light blue eyes watched from the marble stands. Despite the jovial cheers and the sea of people who chanted her namesake of Reaper - she couldn't help but notice how lonely the gladiator looked.

It was almost as if Weiss was looking in the mirror and saw her own reflection.

* * *

"Quiet the guest you have brought along today." Roman mused as he greeted his guests at the entrance of his villa.

"Roman!" Jacques greeted his friend, "I figured you wouldn't mind so much for the extra company I brought along."

There stood a rather well known figure through out of Mistral, a hero bred from a long line of famed fighters and gladiators. Said hero had grown even more in notoriety for her participation in the gladiator games of the arena. Before she went off to join the war to fight off the Valesian from the Anima continent, she was hailed as the Champion of the Arena.

Commander Pyrrha Nikos stood dressed in loose robes of maroon and gold, her famed sword hung at her hip.

"Lord Torchwick," Pyrrha greeted, "It has been a while, my father sends his regards. He still has the tapestry you gave to him on his birthday all those years ago."

"Lady Nikos!" Roman cordially greeted, "I hope all was well on the front lines, I'm glad to see you back safely."

"Thank you, I hope you don't mind me showing up so unexpectedly. When I heard that the Shield of Vale was a gladiator for the Lord Schnee, I couldn't help but come over to meet with Commander Arc." Pyrrha began as the group was invited into the Villa. "Jacques and Weiss were kind enough to allow me to come along when they mentioned they were coming here."

"Apparently, Commander Arc was a formidable foe on the front lines." Weiss filled in as they were led to outdoors to the viewing area of the courtyard. The slaver Neo was dressed in her brown breeches and white tunic, a sword was at her hip with a whip in hand.

Pyrrha nodded, "As one soldier to another, I have the utmost respect for him." She frowned a bit, "It's a shame that he has been taken as a prisoner of war and now fights as a gladiator."

"Tis the law of the land, Lady Nikos." Roman pointed out as he took a seat with a cup of wine in hand, one of the house slaves offered wine to the guests who gladly took it. "He could have been killed on the battlefield or taken alive as a prisoner of war and slave. If you ask me, I'd much rather live to fight another day."

"I suppose so." Pyrrha sighed, "But I will say that I am advocating with my father to release our prisoners of this war back to their home in Vale. And in kind, negotiate that Vale do the same with our soldiers that were taken." Pyrrha's father, Councilman Atreus Nikos, sat on the King's Council of Mistral – the man was one of three of these influential figures. Since the beginning of Mistral's history, the three positions were appointed as such: One would be appointed by the Society of Scholars, the second appointed by the People, and the third appointed by the King himself. Councilman Atreus was a well-known Commander for Mistral's army and dabbled in the Arena during his youth.

"What makes you think they would negotiate now?" Torchwick absorbed the valuable information; the Council would easily agree to the request should the Vale and Mistral enter peace negotiations.

The champion smiled, "I wouldn't be here if I didn't think I was needed on the frontlines any more."

"Vale has set up a defensive around their kingdom, war advisors are estimating that it'll be a few more short months before the Valesians concedes. They couldn't even stop the Mistrali offensive once we landed back on the island of Vytal." Jacques smirked into his cup.

"I see, thank you for that." Roman smiled as he observed his gladiators in training.

"I see that Bolin still around." Pyrrha commented, "What of your previous gladiators?"

Roman smiled, "I'm happy to say that a few have found freedom. The others, well, they found eternal glory in the Coliseum."

"Your family is quite famous for having the best gladiators." Pyrrha said as she brought the cup of wine to her lips, "This wine is delicious."

Ruby glanced over to the patio where Torchwick and the other nobles sat. Once again, those light blue eyes that she had dreamed about nearly every night was back in her vision. Her prim and proper appearance added to her charm, as if she were royalty. She didn't recognize who the red head was.

"Who is that?" Ruby asked as she sat up against the wall in the shade, she had just finished her bout of exercises that Neo prescribed them to do.

"I thought you would know her since you were a scout in the army." Sun had taken off his tunic as his chest glistened with sweat. The heat and humidity would soon settle in for the summer season.

"I was assigned to a small company to begin with, not to mention I was barely in the war for a couple months by the time I was captured." Ruby responded, she noticed the slaver take note of the two, but left them alone as they had put in good work in the arena the day prior.

Sun chuckled, "That is Pyrrha Nikos, she was considered the Champion of the Arena prior to the war. Her family has a history of famed gladiators and fighters in the midst, so it makes sense that her family have a relationship with the Torchwick's – cultivator of gladiators."

The conversation was interrupted once Neo stood over the two, quickly the slaves scrambled to their feet. The slaver looked to Sun and handed him a wooden sword, she motioned to Neptune and a couple other gladiator prospects that were training. Sun knew that she wanted him to teach them and walk them through their sword movements.

Neo motioned Ruby to the center of the courtyard.

"Red, if you will, our guest wishes to watch you fight." Roman motioned to her opponent, the man before her was Bolin Hori, Roman's most senior gladiator. Torchwick had promised the much older gladiator his freedom if he wins enough gold to pay back a debt.

The bar had been set at 30,000 gold lien.

Ruby wasn't sure how much more the man had to earn.

"Ruby." Bolin greeted as he had a wooden sword drawn.

"Bolin." Ruby responded in kind as she held up the sword.

Weiss was absolutely mesmerized by the swordplay. She finally understood what Torchwick meant that the Reaper's fighting style was beautiful, elegant, and agile. Bolin's fighting style focused on strong and precise strikes, he would pressure Ruby with a fierce combination every so often.

The young gladiator would often be forced to retreat away whenever this happened. Usually she would follow up with her own combination as well in order to put the pressure back on to Bolin.

"Absolutely beautiful." Pyrrha remarked, "I can see how the Reaper's victory yesterday was no coincidence, she's talented indeed."

The whole courtyard soon paused to watch the fight take place between some of the best that Roman had. Usually, Neo would spread out the more experienced gladiators with the less experienced ones in order to help them grow. Of the 25 total in Roman's inventory, only about a third of that has had actual arena experience. Despite Torchwick's laid back and easygoing demeanor, he ran a tight ship when it came to allowing his gladiators fight.

He was a perfectionist of the sort, as he knew that he had to uphold the honor of the Torchwick name, a name famed for not only their lavish parties but their vicious gladiators as well.

Except for the time with Ruby, the Reaper herself was a bit of a special case.

Bolin's heavy strike was barely held back by Ruby's block, she took a couple steps backwards under the sheer pressure of his sword lock. A second hand was placed on the flat of the blade to help withstand his over bearing strength. Bolin was beginning to tower over her and Ruby's own strength was beginning to falter.

With a final push, the two tumbled to the ground.

Bolin's blade tip was at Ruby's throat.

"A draw." Jacques mused as he took another sip of his wine.

Bolin looked down and saw Ruby's blade poised at his gut.

Pyrrha stood and walked to the courtyard as the two gladiators untangled themselves from the mess on the ground. Bolin offered a hand to Ruby to help the girl up on to her feet. Ruby complied as she straightened herself up, quickly the two slaves assumed a meek position as Pyrrha approached the two.

"No please, raise your heads." Her green eyes were welcoming as she extended her hand, "You're both fine gladiators." Bolin was the first to shake it, "Glad to see your swordplay hasn't gotten rusty in the slightest."

"Thank you, Lady Nikos." Bolin bowed his head humbly, "Our match together all those years ago is still one of my favorites."

"And you, they call you the Reaper." Pyrrha turned her attention to the shorter girl, "You're tenacious and the way you fight is steadfast, I've never seen anything like it before. What's your real name?"

"Thank you." Ruby shook the Mistrali Champion's hand, she looked over at Torchwick for confirmation.

"Go ahead Red, tell them your real name." Roman encouraged, if memory served him correctly, she was just a small time scout in the army.

"Ruby Rose."

Weiss raised a brow; she never even bothered to ask the gladiator her proper name during the party a month ago.

"You're a great fighter, Ruby." The Mistrali Commander, "Thank you for your performance."

"You're welcome, Lady Nikos." Ruby smiled as she warmly took to the commander, like Bolin she bowed her head to the Champion.

"Well enough of a break, if you wouldn't mind, I would like to have my gladiators resume training." Roman commanded as he motioned for Neo to continue with her duties.

"Of course not." Jacques mentioned, "If you wouldn't mind Roman, I'd like to try to win back some of my lien from our game of cards the other night."

"Not at all Jacque, I have a deck in the parlor upstairs. I don't know if you've seen the view from the balcony, you can see the lake that's about a quarter mile down the road." Roman stood as he motioned for the older gentleman to follow. "When is it that you're going back to Atlas?"

"Next week, I believe my dear Weiss to be more than capable to handle things here in Mistral. She already set up a major trade deal with Coco Adel, fine Mistrali silk and cloth to be sent to the northern continent in exchange for some dust ores." A proud look could be seen on Jacques face.

"You have an older daughter, if memory serves correctly." Roman looked over to Weiss, "I remember Weiss mentioning that she knows her way around the sword."

Jacques paused, ever so briefly, a rather cross look flashed over his eyes, but just as quickly it was gone, "Ah yes, Winter – she's a Commander now in the Altesian Army."

"A good and honorable profession she is in." Torchwick left the conversation at that as he had seen the way his friend's eyes lit up at the mention of his eldest. "Please let Neo or anyone else know if you need anything, you're both very important guests to me." The slave master was cordial to the two.

"Thank you, and we will if we do." Weiss nodded to her business partner

Ruby watched as her master walked off, she glanced over at Weiss who wore her hair in a loose up do to accommodate the Mistrali heat; the summer months were upon the Kingdom.

The young gladiator sat off in the shade as she drank from a ladle that she grabbed from the water barrel. Bolin sat off to her side as the two relaxed after the tough swordplay they just had.

"You've gotten better Rubes." Bolin complimented as he rubbed a spot on his arm that Ruby's sword had gotten during the fight.

"You make it even more and more difficult." Ruby replied, Bolin had been the one to take Ruby under his wing to teach her how to fight like a gladiator. The man was considered a legend in the arena, as his quest for freedom became a staple to his story to get people flocking to the coliseum.

But now Bolin had a bit of a handicap now a days due an old wound he received to his back over a year ago. From time to time the gladiator would have great difficulty holding a sword, so his arena appearances have drastically decreased. Roman Torchwick didn't want to lose out on Bolin by irritating the injury further, the man had been a great source of income over the years.

Ruby looked up at the sky, "How much more do you have left in that debt to Master Torchwick?"

The older man smiled, "He says he's going to line up a big fight for me. He says if I win it, then my freedom is in the bag."

"Really?" Ruby's eyes went wide, "You're… You're going to be free?" The childlike excitement was evident.

He nodded, "Yeah, the debt will be paid off and my family will no longer be indebted to the Torchwick family." He referred to his mother and sister who lived in the kingdom, his father had taken out a loan from some loan sharks. Bolin's father found himself unable to pay back what he took out… with interest. It was Bolin's luck that his father would skip out on the payments and leave his wife and children behind in the city.

As the story goes, Bolin went to Torchwick for help, and that's how he found himself in this predicament.

"How long have you been here now?" The younger girl asked as she looked at the man.

"6 years now, it'll be great to finally see my mom and sister as a free man." A happy smile was plastered on the man's face. Ruby recalled that every once and a while, (especially after Bolin would have a big win in the arena) Torchwick would allow Bolin's mother and sister to come visit for a day.

The sound of the wooden sword being knocked out of one's hand and onto the ground could be heard, a yelp of pain could be heard as Sun stood over the gladiator prospect.

"Neptune, you can't lose your grip on your sword like that. As soon as you lose your weapon, you're as good as dead in the coliseum." Sun instructed as he offered a hand to the prospect.

A fire ignited in Neptune's eyes.

From what he could remember, his family sold him off to the slavery system. He was only a young child at the time, so his memories of freedom before were always hazy at best. But he was lucky as a tailor bought him for additional help with his shop. His owner was patient and his job was never too demanding or stressful and he grew up well fed and clothed. Neptune always thought that most slaves were treated as such, and grew comfortable with his life style.

However, his complacency got the better of him as he got into a fight at the market with a young man, a _free_ man to be more precise. The young man that Neptune ended up beating up turned out to be the son of the local tax collector.

Needless to say, his tailor master was harassed constantly until he ultimately decided to get rid of Neptune all together by selling him back to the slave market.

There the slave truly learned what his position in life was.

It was up until 5 months ago that Neptune was sold off again, at a good price of 450 gold lien coins. The average price for a slave was around 300 gold lien coins. Upon his arrival to the Torchwick Villa, it had been absolute hell.

As a gladiator prospect, his training was brutal, as he would be up well before the sun would rise and finished once the food for dinner had already grown cold and soggy. It had been the same thing every day for the past 5 months.

Get up, pick up an 80-pound log, and go out and do various exercises with it. Whether it be walking in circles all day, doing various core works outs while holding it above your head, or being forced to swing it at the training dummy. His whole body ached; his neck had stayed permanently sore from shouldering the weight all day, and his palms and fingers were covered in blisters.

And that was just the morning.

The afternoon consisted of sword training, and that was another special hell as they would constantly do the same motions again and again. If he was going to learn to fight, he wanted to learn to move the way Ruby and Bolin did. He wanted to learn how to roll and dodge the way they do.

He wanted the same privileges that they received!

For Oum's sake, they had their own rooms in the slave compound and even allowed to roam around the courtyard on their own time during the evening and night. And the thing with the bath! How they were allowed to be the first to enter the clean water while Neptune was forced to wait until he got to wash off with the blood and dirt stained liquid. He rarely felt clean.

But instead, he gets to have some Faunus lecture him about the way he holds a sword. The same Faunus that's allowed to even _sleep_ inside the Villa from time to time while Neptune slept in a cell with 3 other slaves on a straw covered floor.

"My grip is just fine, my hands are just tired from my training this morning. Not like you would know anything about that since you didn't even get out of bed until an hour before the afternoon training started!" The gladiator prospect spat loudly.

Ruby and Bolin were quick to stand from where they sat, Sun flicked his eyes over to the two gladiators and shook his head, "Settle down, Neptune. Don't draw too much attention over here." Sun's voice was calm as he nervously looked over at the slaver who was busy ensuring the other gladiator's swordplay forms were sharp.

"I'll settle down when I'm ready! I've been at this shit for 5 months and I'm stuck doing the same damn thing over and over again!" Neptune stood as he looked on into the Faunus' eyes. "While you get to sleep in, while you don't have to carry a fucking log to the lake and back, and while you even get to sleep in the Master's Villa from time to time! What makes you so fucking-"

"Enough!" Roman bellowed from the second floor balcony, "What in Oum's name is going on down there? Who is yelling?" The slave master's eyes were livid - which slave of his would dare act up while he had guests over.

Immediately all action in the courtyard halted.

Ruby bit the inside of her cheek as she looked over the prospect, 'You're about to make everyone's lives hell, newbie.'

Roman looked over the slaves and settled his eyes on Neo; the slaver motioned to Neptune and Sun.

"Wukong, explain." His green eyes were trained on the Faunus, Sun immediately snapped to the position of respect that was ingrained in him since his early days at the Torchwick Villa. His hands were behind his back and his shoulders kept straight.

"Master Torchwick, Neptune is merely tired and has reached his limit for today. I think the heat is getting to his head and has lashed out." Sun explained quickly and clearly.

Torchwick looked over to the blue haired man, "I do believe I over heard something along the lines of some 'unfair' treatment among you." A wicked grin, "Is this true, Neptune?"

"I.. I was only trying –" A crack of a whip cut the prospect off, Neo wore an unreadable expression.

"It's a yes or no question." Sun muttered to the prospect.

"Yes!" Neptune responded quickly.

Ruby locked eyes with Bolin and the two wore uneasy expressions on their faces as they had an idea of what was coming up next.

"Bring up the Four!" Roman exclaimed, Sun headed to the center of the courtyard with Bolin and Ruby right next to him. From the opposite end of the court yard came the final member of this group, Nadir, who was teaching shield and sword techniques to those who had a little bit of experience in the Arena already.

The four stood at the position of respect while in a line together before Torchwick.

"Despite the hard work you have put in around the Villa and in the Arena, your fellow slave believes that you're getting unfair treatment. So being as benevolent as I am, I believe some retribution is in order." The slave master explained, "Nadir the Wilding, what is the punishment for disrupting our holy hours of training?"

The tanned man had his pink locks greased back, he looked to Neptune, his face kept calm as he looked back up towards his master, "It is two lashings from the slaver, Master." He gripped his hands behind his back; everyone currently in that line had received the punishment for disrupting training at least once in their early years of starting at the Villa.

All it ever took was receiving that punishment once and a smart slave would know not to do something like that ever again.

"And since Neptune believes that you have been receiving unfair treatment, I say let's clear the air right here and now. We'll start a fresh slate after we even the score a little. Is that alright with you, Neptune?" Roman's tone was playful, but it had a dangerous undertone to it.

A tone that the four gladiators knew all too well and would try to avoid at all costs.

"Y-Yes." Neptune had only received a lashing once in his life, and it hurt like hell.

"For disrupting training: you, Ruler of the Seas, will receive two lashings from Neo." Neptune's face went pale, he recalled it took a few weeks for his back to heal the last time he was whipped.

He looked over to his Core Four of famed gladiators, "Since you four were the cause of poor Neptune's outburst during the holy hours of training and to settle any grievances about your 'unfair' treatment in the Villa, you each will receive 6 lashings."

Weiss, who had remained silent throughout the exchange, since those slaves were the property of Roman, nearly stood up in her seat. But a strong arm from Pyrrha Nikos kept the merchant in her chair.

"Do not make it worse than it already is." Pyrrha had a sympathetic undertone, her eyes pleaded with Weiss. All the two could do was simply watch as those were Roman's slaves and this was his own home.

'They're slaves… they're supposed to be objects we use… and something we fix when they're not working.' Weiss mentally berated herself with the lessons her father had taught her growing up, 'They're objects.' The merchant took another deep breath before looking over.

'Ruby…' Weiss pleaded silently as she looked over the smallest gladiator.

"You three, set up the chains." Roman commanded a group of prospects, they immediately snapped to the task as they ran to the storage room in the slave compound.

Light blue eyes looked on, the astonishment was clear on her face. The smallest gladiator of the bunch was to receive 6 lashings. Weiss recalled how pleasant the slave's company was during Roman's party. Even if she was ordered to attend to Weiss, Ruby had been pleasant the entire evening… and maybe even caring as she had taken care to ensure Weiss was okay when she had that short dizzy spell.

The gladiator had been gentle to her and to her fellow slave that would have faced certain death if he didn't perform well enough for the crowd.

"This is barbaric." Weiss clenched her jaw as she watched Neo corral the gladiators to the side to await their punishment. The silver eyed slave kept a indifferent expression the entirety of it as the blue haired one looked like he would pass out at any second.

"Do you not whip your slaves in Atlas?" Pyrrha questioned.

Weiss shook her head, "We… We do, I've just never seen it done before with my own eyes. And Father has never resorted to using a whip as the slaves are generally well kept in line."

"I understand your uneasiness, I sympathize with you… We of the Nikos Family don't whip our own slaves - we find other means instead… But it is as Lord Torchwick said before, it is the law of the land." She breathed in deep, "I will hold my tongue from here, and I only ask that you do the same."

Pyrrha could see how uneasy the whole ordeal was for her new friend.

The Champion put a reassuring hand over the merchant's, "I'll be right here with you, we can leave after. I'll say that I wish to show you around the Nikos Villa."

Weiss nodded in appreciation, she felt her gut wretch a bit as the chains were hooked to the wall. She watched as the prospect named Neptune was chained first. His wrists wore the iron hand cuffs and his arms were spread apart as he faced the wall. The other slaves pulled the chains taut, so that if the slave were to lose strength in his legs, he would remain upright still to receive his lashings.

It was quiet, at least until Neptune's cries of pain echoed throughout the courtyard. He didn't expect his legs to give out as the spot of where the whip licked him burned a white-hot fire.

The second crack of the whip only amplified his cries; two long lacerations could be seen on his back. The slaves were quick to let go of the chains and Neptune fell on to his knees. Junior, who was down in the courtyard overseeing the punishment with Neo, grabbed the prospect by the shoulder and dragged the slave face down in the dirt off to the side. There the gladiator prospect withered in pain, attempting to keep his groans of agony to himself.

"If you keep crying like that, I might be inclined to give you one more." Roman mentioned off handedly, he held his cup out to be filled with more wine. Jacques snickered at the blue haired slave who was withering around like a child.

Bolin volunteered to be first; he had removed his tunic and stood stoically in front of the wall. His hands were quickly cuffed and the chains pulled tight. The muscles in his back flexed to their limit.

Neo cracked the whip 6 times, and not once did Bolin mutter a cry. It was on his own feet that he walked over to the side, and despite how red faced he appeared and the sweat that ran down his entire body from the whole ordeal – he stood with his arms crossed as he waited for the other three. He casted a glance over at the prospect who remained face down in the dirt.

Nadir took his lashings in a similar fashion, but a small grunt escaped his lips on the last one. Ruby saw a line of blood falling from the wilding's lips as it became apparent how hard he tried to bite back the screams.

Sun went next and tucked his tail between his legs to avoid further injury. Ruby was close enough to see how tightly shut his eyes were as the whip cracked again and again. She could see how his knees buckled slightly upon the last two lashings.

Once he was released from his chains, he fell to one knee for but a moment. With a deep breathe, he rose steadily to his feet and joined his fellow comrades on the side. Sun casted a side ways glance to Ruby, she could see the remorse in his eyes.

Ruby removed her tunic dutifully as she stepped to the chains, she could see the blood droplets that coated the sand there.

With a final glance at Bolin, Nadir, and Sun; Ruby faced the wall. Junior had to pull the chain length down more to accommodate her shorter stature. The creaking of chains being pulled taught could be heard, Ruby placed both of her hands on the wall.

The first lash left a ringing in her ear.

The second made her back briefly numb.

The third made jaw clench so hard that she thought her teeth would surely crack against the pressure.

Weiss held on to Pyrrha's hand, she was angry at the whole ordeal and she felt powerless to help the silver-eyed gladiator. The three long lacerations began to trickle with blood, she was amazed that the slave had remained standing. How could one who was so helpful and disciplined be subject to this punishment? Ruby did nothing wrong, so why should she be receiving these lashings?

Neo re-adjusted the grip on her whip as she continued on with the last three lashings.

The fourth she let out a strangled breathe of air.

The fifth caused a few tears to leak out from her tightly shut eyes.

And the sixth was enough to bring her to her knees if it weren't for the shackles keeping her upright.

Junior was quick to remove the cuffs – Ruby fell forward as she struggled to think through agony. He was just about to grab the slave and drag her off to the side, but Ruby stopped him as she showed the same conviction as the other three.

With a white knuckled hand on the wall, she stood up. Her back burned in protest at the movement and her throat held on to at least a hundred screams of pain. But she kept the sounds there as she bit the inside of her cheek until she tasted metal in her mouth. Another tear rolled down her face as she stood with the people she considered her brothers.

"You four never cease to amaze me," Roman smiled as he looked over the fresh markings on his slaves, "It's a good thing that we're taking the next month off from the Arena." He waved his hand, "Be sure to look them over in the infirmary, start with Neptune over there, I do believe he has passed out. Neo, continue training the rest of them." He instructed.

"Breathe, Weiss." Pyrrha whispered, the merchant hadn't realized that she had been shaking in anger. "Do not let it show how shaken you are, especially not here – not in front of Lord Torchwick." She waited for the Altesian merchant to settle down.

"Okay, I'm fine now." Weiss cleared her throat with a bit of wine as she took another deep breath. A trained straight face was on the merchant's face, her back straight and her face showed no sign of apprehension what so ever.

"Lord Torchwick," The Champion of Mistral called out to the slave master on the balcony. "I think I'll be taking Weiss here to my Villa. She asked me a question on the history of Mistrali gladiators and I want to show her some of the keepsakes of the Nikos Family."

"Wonderful idea!" Roman agreed, "I do apologize for the whole ordeal, but as you know, the Torchwick Family takes pride in the discipline of our gladiators." A wink and smile was flashed to the two ladies on the first floor.

"It's no problem at all, it is as you said - it is the laws of this land." Weiss returned the smile with a straight face she had developed in her years of business. "And once again, you have reassured me with how well disciplined you're slaves are. Perhaps next time, if I have one attend me again, I will not have to request that they remove their swords."

"Of course! Do tell me what you think of our history! It's fantastic, if you'd like, I could show you some of our memorabilia from the time of my great-great Grandfather." Roman offered cheerfully.

"Perhaps the next time I come visit, we can do that after we discuss some business between us." Weiss threw out as she stood in her chair. She was referring to Torchwick's commission fee on a trade deal he helped to broker with the local market.

The slave master nodded his head, "Til next time then, and you're more than welcome to come back and visit as well Lady Nikos. Give your father my regards." He waved the two off.

Ruby just wanted to grab Neo's whip and simply beat the ever-living shit out of Torchwick.

* * *

"How bad are they?" Roman questioned, it was well into the night, Jacques Schnee was well taken care of before the slave master went off to check on his property. He left the Schnee patriarch with his popular blond slave again.

Miltiades looked over the 5 that were currently resting face down in the infirmary. "That blue haired one should be fine in about a week, the other four – probably two weeks before they're able to move freely without opening the wounds."

Roman looked over little Red as she looked peaceful in her sleep, he figured the Malachite medic had fed a sleeping herb to his slaves to help sleep the pain away.

"So they can hold a sword again about two and half weeks then?" His green eyes looked over his best gladiators.

"I would recommend four weeks if you want to avoid possibility of re-opening their wounds." The medic recommended, "I would also like to allow Octavia to stay here and help keep an eye on them, make sure their bandages are changed and that they don't catch a fever."

Octavia was one of Roman's house slaves who had a lot of medical knowledge. Like the rest of the house slaves, she slept in the Villa's underground living quarters.

"I'll allow it then," Roman approached the prospect with blue hair as he lay sleeping, "Did you give him any sleeping aid?"

Miltiades shook her head, "No, I figured you wouldn't want to waste any of that on him. I did give it to the others, not even a Nevermore's shriek should be able to wake them."

"So he has to be awake then." The slave master grabbed the blue hair by a handful and forcefully lifted the slave's head. With a heavy grunt, Neptune looked up at his master as his back screamed in pain at the awkward movement. "You see what you made me do, my little mermaid?" He let go of the hair and Neptune's chin made harsh contact with the table he was laid out on. "Do you understand now? What I want you to do?" Roman continued on as he walked around the prospect. "If you so much as even _complain_ about how things are ran here, it'll be you receiving 6 lashings."

"Yes, Master" Neptune complied as he lay in agony.

Roman smiled as he looked over at his four best, "These are probably some of the best gladiators that the Torchwick family has seen, hopefully they'll heal up nicely."

"Why did you mangle them then?" Miltiades questioned, she had been wondering why her employer had passed such harsh punishment on his best slaves who had nothing to do with the new prospect.

The slave master chuckled, "To show that an outburst by one is considered an outburst by all." He looked back over at the blue haired prospect, "Plus, once those four heal up, they'll give him his special hell – not to mention the other gladiators that look up to the Core Four will probably give the mermaid his extra special treatment too."

"What if the other slaves kill him?" Miltiades questioned.

Roman smiled, "They all should know by now how I feel about my toys breaking, there will be hell to pay."

Neptune shut his eyes as he forced his tears back, he didn't want to leave the infirmary and go back to the compound, he knew how well respected the Core Four were. Hell, even Ruby had even gone so far to ensure he survived the demonstration during the party a month ago. Now he has repaid her kindness with his arrogance.

He had never felt more sorry in his life than he did now.

* * *

TigerCritic - I know I've taken quiet the artistic license, I hope you don't mind too much, haha. As I said before, it's a loose inspiration - if anything I wanted to try writing from Ruby's perspective as a hardened slave that has gotten used to the status quo and some how throw a some what twisted White Rose plot into it all. This is probably one of the most fun stories I've had the opportunity to write.

GrnDrgnzrd - Thank you for saying that, I think I'm starting to refine my style of writing a little bit more now. Like they say, practice makes perfect.

Darkerpaths - I actually tried writing Torchwick more like his Spartacus counter-part, I wasn't too pleased with how it turned out. And as I said before, loose inspiration. As far as politics go, I might not be able to live up to those expectations - I guess I'm more of a 'romantic' type of person (adventure, romance, heart break, trial and tribulations, etc.), but there will be some mention of politics through out.

To everyone else who reviewed - thank you so much for taking the time to not only read my story, but to say a few words as well. They're definitely a source of motivation for me (i.e. I've gotten all the way up to chapter 6 written out, just going through some tweaks and edits haha).

Til next time.

Cheers,

DevilRed


	4. A Good Different

PSA for those who are curious about update timelines: I may not be able to post chapters for a while, real world stuff calls that needs my attention. I will post chapter 5 up for this month.

* * *

"You healed up nicely, I don't think you should have to worry about your wounds opening up." Octavia mentioned as she removed the bandages of the gladiator's back.

Ruby hummed, "I've always been this way, I heal up fast for some reason." It had been almost three weeks since they received their lashings.

Initially, neither of the four was able to physically get up from their place in the infirmary, other than to use the bathroom when necessary (and they were put to sleep with the sleeping herb for a majority of it). Slaves from the house were sent over to feed them during meal times as Miltiades recommend that they don't move at all during that first week.

The second week they were allowed to walk around, but had to sleep in the infirmary at night so that Miltiades and Octavia could change their bandages and keep the wound clean.

"How's Neptune doing?" Octavia questioned, she looked over at Nadir whose eyes flashed slightly at the mention of the prospect's name. His bandages were fresh as they had just been changed, the gladiator was waiting for Octavia to finish changing Ruby's bandages so that they could go back to the compound and at least watch the training that took place.

Miltiades forbade either of them from touching a sword until their lacerations healed completely.

Ruby scoffed, "We haven't done anything, the other slaves have been hazing him on a daily basis. They pissed in his porridge the other day and the cook's slave refused to give him another serving."

Octavia frowned, "Are you going to tell the others to cut it out soon? It's been two weeks since he left the infirmary."

"We're going to let it go for another week, once we're able to hold a sword again, I'll tell them to knock it off." Nadir cut in from where he stood, "He needs to learn his place."

"I think he already has since it's been so long." The house slave reasoned, this was one of the biggest differences between the house slaves and the gladiators – the gladiators were quick to eat their own if they didn't conform… But Octavia supposed they had good reason to. Not to mention the house slaves had to learn how to be graceful and to _properly attend_ the honored guests of the Torchwick home – those who were unable to adapt to this _lifestyle_ were often discarded quickly or punished by Torchwick himself.

"He started it and brought us all down." Ruby added as she grabbed her tunic to pull back over her head, "Nadir is right, he needs to learn his place."

She bit her lip at how heartless the comment came out, "I remember when you used to be a bit more reasonable." Octavia smiled softly at the young gladiator.

"That changed quickly." Ruby frowned as she recalled her first night in the Villa once more. By Oum, she hated that man with all her might. You had to conform here if you wanted to survive, play by the rules and life wasn't so hard.

Or at least not as hard as it can be.

Nadir observed the look on his fellow gladiator's face, he knew how much of an… impression, Torchwick had left on Ruby. "Rubes," Nadir called out the nickname as he watched the younger gladiator snap out of her thoughts, "Should we go see what Sun and Bolin are up to?" The wilding assumed that they would be lazing about the underground quarters of the house slaves since it was significantly cooler there and their Master knew that there wasn't much else they could. As long as they remained out of trouble and promptly arrived when called, Torchwick didn't mind what the Core Four did.

They knew the rules well.

The dark haired girl nodded as she stood up to leave the infirmary.

Until Torchwick's most trusted guard walked into the room.

"Is Reaper here still?" Junior's voice echoed through the infirmary, he caught sight of the slave, "Come with me, you've been called."

Ruby nodded to Nadir before following her Master's personal guard to the upper levels of the Villa. The infirmary was located in the slave's compound on the ground level, the two traversed across the courtyard where the slaves trained. In trail of the guard, Ruby went up the stairs to the second floor parlor that oversaw the courtyard, the wide double doors were left open as the view of the lake could easily be seen.

"And like I said, Red is all healed up." Roman motioned to the slave, her bandages would be seen where the tunic didn't cover it.

Light blue eyes looked over the slave, a wave of relief washed through the Schnee's entire being as she saw Ruby stand there with her back straight, but her eyes did linger on the bandages. "I thought for sure your gladiators would still need healing." She nodded her head, "I suppose I'll take my words back for saying that I didn't believe." Weiss laughed lightly.

The slave master smiled, "I told you they were fine by now… but on to that thing earlier, you mentioned something about a thief before Red showed up." He was intrigued

"Oh yes, Lord Alistair was robbed and his servant was killed." Weiss recalled the latest news.

"Did they figure out what the thief wanted?" The slave master was curious, "If they killed one of his servants, then it must have been something important."

Weiss shrugged, "They were missing a couple slave collars, but that's about it. I don't know why they would kill the servant if that's all they were stealing."

"It's simple, to leave no witnesses." He sat back in his chair, "It's a curious crime, why steal just those slave collars?" Green eyes pondered for a moment before shrugging his shoulder, "Who knows, I only hope that the local law enforcement catches the criminal."

"It was a good thing Lord Alistair was away that night at Lady Adel's, who knows what else could have happened." She was concerned over the ordeal; she had yet to procure her own personal guard just yet – other than Klein who was her manservant that chose to follow her to Mistral.

"Moving on to the reason I'm here, your three percent cut of the deals you've helped brokered so far." She may have fibbed a little when she stated her reason; the merchant forced her eyes to not look over at the slave.

Weiss presented an official bank statement that was handed to her by Klein, the manservant sat off to the side with a bag in hand. "I think you'll find yourself happy with the overall cut of three percent, you'll be earning about 400 gold lien this month."

Roman whistled happily, 'All this coin and I haven't had to go through the risk of putting up a champion in the Arena.' Despite how easy it was to throw a man in the Coliseum, one had to mention the entry fee for one gladiator, roughly 55 gold lien. But the pay out was good since you would take your opponents lien if their gladiator loses, not to mention a small cut of the admission fees. However, you would always have to pay roughly 15% of your total winnings to the family who owned the Stone Coliseum – the Fall family. And it was worth mentioning that if your slave died in the Arena, you just lost out on the roughly 300 gold lien you spent on the slave in the first place.

But all of this didn't include the betting, Roman was a gambling man who loved betting on himself during the gladiator games. More often than not he would win, but there were always the couple of times he would lose – which he was never happy about.

The Torchwick Villa, the parties, and his personal staff that included Neo, Junior and his men, the Malachite twins, and his cooking staff had a salary that needed to be paid – those expenses were not cheap.

So this business venture with Weiss Schnee would be highly beneficial to the slave master, so Roman had made it his mission to keep his newfound Schnee friends as amicable as possible.

Roman looked over the scroll with the official Schnee seal, all he had to do was present it to the bank and 400 gold lien would be deposited into his account with the Mistral Bank. "This is much more lucrative than last month, I see that your name has been picking up traction."

"The people of Mistral have proved to have quiet the appetite for Altesian fish, I think our fish market venture has proved very successful so far." Roman had gotten Weiss in touch with a well-known dock master; Weiss brokered a deal for Altesian fish delicacies to be sold at the docks. The Schnee Merchant Company owned some fishing rights in Atlas' bays. With some ingenious technology that included the ice dust crystals, they were able to preserve the fish's freshness from the time the fish was caught in the bays of Atlas until they needed to be sold on the docks of Mistral.

"As enjoyable as this has been, I must say that I do have some other business to attend to – more specifically a potential investment in some slaves." Roman looked over his friend as he rose, "But please, feel free to take your time leaving…" He smirked as he recalled that the Schnee's fascination with the Reaper, "I'll have Red attend to you."

"Oh no, don't-" Weiss began only to be cut off as Roman leaned in close to her ear.

"I usually don't let the men _play_ with Red because… well she doesn't take to them too well and I don't want to run the risk of her getting pregnant. But women, she's fine around." Torchwick's voice was low, but his green eyes looked up to the slave as Ruby clenched her jaw, she heard and clearly understood what her Master meant.

There were several occasions where she was forked over to female nobles for _entertainment_ purposes, but all those times she only had to please the nobles. In turn for her services, her Master was in better favor of those noble women and was able to procure a few things he wanted from them.

Never did they try to touch her… precious parts. Except for one noble woman in particular – Ruby's body pleasantly shuddered at the thought of that beautiful midnight hair that screamed seduction and those amber eyes that looked at her with such insatiability.

Weiss' face lit up the color of Ruby's namesake as she processed what Roman meant.

"I'll be heading back to the Villa as well, Lady Weiss, I'll get started on balancing the books." Klein coughed, he was quick to dismiss himself.

"A good manservant you are, good sir." Torchwick called out jovially to the older man.

"K-Klein!" Weiss called out uselessly, she knew Klein was just trying to be considerate for her private life. It was no secret that her Father took part in pretty much everything that Roman had to offer at his Villa. It would have come to no surprise to him if Weiss wished to do the same.

"It's okay to cut loose, Snowflake. No one in Mistral will judge you for it – otherwise they would damned hypocrites." Roman teased, "Relax for once, you've been hard at work." He enticed once more, "What ever you do, on the house… and no one has to know. Consider this private party as an official congratulations for setting up your branch company here." The slave master began to walk out as Junior followed him out, "Do be careful of her back though."

Finally, the two were alone in the room.

"Looks like I'll be in your care again." Weiss began as she looked around the parlor.

The gladiator looked over the Schnee merchant; the Mistrali heat beat down on the both of them, as the parlor room was hot from the glaring sun that shone through the balcony. She observed as Weiss attempted to fan herself.

"There are cooler rooms else where, if you wish, Master Schnee." Ruby suggested, she remembered how pleasant Weiss was.

"Please, lead the way. It was pleasant before the sun began to shine down on the room." She was glad for the change of pace of conversation.

On the way to the cooler portion of the Villa, they ran into another slave that obviously wasn't another of Torchwick's gladiators. Weiss recognized the blond as her Father was absolutely enamored by this one.

"Helen," Ruby called out to the blond house slave."

Her green eyes shined in a friendly manner, "Reaper," She presented herself with such grace as she caught sight of the guest, "Lady Schnee." She bowed elegantly.

"A cask of wine and a pitcher of water for Master Schnee." The gladiator requested.

"Right away." Her voice was like a song. The merchant understood why she was so popular.

The house slave wandered off as Ruby led them into a room.

Weiss was taken back by the sight of the bed, there was arching windows off to the side that showed the view of the Kingdom and the front of Roman's Villa that had a long drive way out front. His closest neighbor was down the road as the man lived right on the edge of the city.

"I… I'm not trying to… sleep with you." Weiss flushed as the words left her mouth. She chose a spot on the couch in the room as the slave remained standing.

Ruby raised a brow, "It's my duty to ensure guests are comfortable, and this is a cooler part of the house as the sun isn't shining down on this room so harshly."

Helen returned with a pitcher of water and a cask of wine, behind her another slave held two cups for Weiss to drink from. Ruby grabbed the cup and pitcher and motioned they place the wine on the table nearby. The house slaves left the two alone; Ruby proceeded to filled both cups with either water or wine.

"Water is fine for now." Weiss grabbed the cup and gulped down the contents to ease her parched throat. The gladiator simply stood off to the side as she peered out the window in the silence. She wanted to lighten the mood a bit and searched her thoughts for a conversation topic.

She couldn't remember the last time she was this tongue-tied.

"Pyrrha, Lady Nikos, taught me of the history of gladiators a while ago." She cut through the air, Ruby looked over and nodded to affirm she was listening, "I think I can understand the sport a little better now, I used to detest watching at first."

The gladiator was a bit perplexed, "Then why do you have gladiators then?" If memory served correctly, she had fought against at least 3 champions that belonged to the Schnee's – all 3 of which had been cut down by her sword.

"I only have Commander Arc at my disposal now, you and the Monkey King did a fine job of cutting them down in the Arena. Plus… it was Father's idea to gain favor with Roman and a few other nobles through the gladiator matches. I thought of other ways, but he thought this was the fastest… as well as the most expensive." Weiss bit her cheek as she recalled how much money they ended wasting for 'building relations with the locals'. They spent almost 2000 gold lien, plus the expenses her Father accrued by attending so many parties… and then the several times he'd come to Roman seeking _entertainment._

"Is Commander Arc your only slave?" Ruby questioned out of curiosity.

Weiss shook her head, "I have one house slave that Klein manages nicely. I have toyed with the idea of getting another gladiator." It would prove beneficial to her standing among the elite and aristocrat if she had a gladiator who performed well in the coliseum; she saw how well known Roman was within that circle. It would be valuable for her to expand the Schnee ties within Mistral.

"I see." The slave nodded.

It was quiet once more.

The silence was getting under the Schnee's skin, she wasn't too sure what to do in this position. She had never commanded a slave for… for sex. She had three encounters under her belt - a boy in her teenage years and a little bit later a fellow school mate who was an heiress (both wanted to… broaden their views) but that was about it as she began to seriously take the family business into consideration shortly after. Then there was the thing with a young noble man back in Atlas… there was a lot of wine that had been drunk that night.

And it didn't take much for Weiss to get completely sloshed, the merchant would always take care to monitor how much she drank at all the parties and social gatherings she would attend.

"What's it like? To be in there?" Weiss engrossed herself into the topic of gladiators once more, it was genuine as a part of her was intrigued by it all, "I never got around to asking Pyrrha."

Ruby noticed the cup empty, she grabbed the wine and offered it to her guest; Weiss complied and took a big sip from the sweet nectar. She was surprised, she could barely taste the burn that was usually present in all the wine she drank.

The Reaper knew what type of answer that she would usually give when prompted… but a part of her wanted to tell the merchant how she really felt.

However, Weiss Schnee was still a close friend of Torchwick.

"Deafening… It's just me and my opponent." The Reaper started the rehearsed response, something Torchwick would be proud of, "There's a certain… addiction I suppose, to keep winning, and then there's the roar of the crowd… Standing in the middle of it all you can't help but feel wrapped up in everyone's… elation."

"Deafening…" Weiss studied the gladiator; she recalled how lonely the slave looked during her last match in the coliseum, "Do you feel like you're absolutely alone in the middle of it all?" Her cup felt empty, the sweet wine was gone, but the dutiful slave took immediate note and filled the cup once more.

Ruby was caught off guard by the question; she looked into those analyzing eyes to see if there was an ulterior motif behind her question. The gladiator couldn't seem to find one, instead it seemed as if those light blue orbs were searching – searching for something deeper, something lost that needed to be found.

Silver eyes that were usually as cold as the gladius she often held softened for a moment – they shined as if they found knew life. For an instant, Weiss wanted with all her being to know what those eyes looked like when they glowed in mirth and laughter.

"I feel alone in there all the time."

Weiss mouth slightly hung open at the honest answer. An unreadable emotion was clearly evident on the slave's face as those silver eyes bore into hers. The merchant blinked before finishing her cup of wine – she could easily relate to the slave.

Despite the parties and niceties that came with the money, every time she was surrounded fellow aristocrats, nobles, merchants – the list went on – she felt alone.

As if something were missing.

But what could it be? She had it all when it came to lien and influence, she had succeeded in expanding the Schnee Merchant Company (but there was still work to be done to expand the name even further in Mistral) and yet, she felt as though there was something more. She thought that coming to Mistral would quench this never-ending thirst for that elusive 'more'.

Is this why Winter left the business and joined the military?

She thought back to that lonely silver-eyed warrior in the middle of the Arena. How the gladiator would often look to the sky searching for something. Maybe it was the same elusive 'more' that Weiss sought out.

She wasn't sure what 'more' she could want at this point.

Except for maybe another cup of wine.

"Master Schnee, you've drank all the wine in the cask." Ruby stated. The empty cask was placed off to the side next to the still full pitcher of water.

Weiss blinked rapidly, she hadn't realized she had sat there simply thinking the entire time.

"How long has it been?" Weiss questioned, she looked out the window to see the sun had crossed its highest peak.

"Perhaps an hour." The slave diligently replied.

"You'll have to excuse me, I was lost in thought." The merchant rose from her seat, the sweat on her body wasn't nearly as bad as earlier in the parlor. Weiss looked over the gladiator, how strong she was in the arena, how easily she could bring a man to his knees with a flourish of her sword.

And now the Champion of the Arena was here, attending to her – Weiss Schnee.

The merchant supposed Roman was right about how delightful it was to make one so powerful attend to your needs.

With a deep breath, she let go of her worries and stress of her work. For once, she felt truly relaxed – she would have to ask Roman where the man received his wine, as she had become a fan of it now. She craved more of it to quench this growing thirst.

Silver eyes watched her guest intently.

She was dressed in a light cream-colored dress to accommodate the heat. She raised her hand to her brow to wipe the bead of sweat. Her cheeks were flushed, it reminded Ruby of the time she saw another esteemed guest walk out of a private room with Sun during a Torchwick party. Her hair was slightly tousled, in such a way that Ruby wanted to run her hands through it and make the mess her own. The way the cloth of her dress hung delicately from around her neck, the skin on her shoulders were unblemished, the gladiator would have guessed that it was as smooth as fine marble too.

And then she turned and faced the window.

Ruby felt her breath hitch itself in her throat as she caught sight of her momentary Master's beautiful back that was exposed in its entire glory from the dress. At the junction of where the small of her back met her hips is when the cloth of the dress began again. The gladiator counted three beads of sweat running down that tantalizing posterior that had no blemishes.

'Oh Oum… you're absolutely stunning, like you're a princess almost.'

Weiss Schnee looked absolutely _hot_ in every sense of the word.

"Do you stare at all your guests this way?" Light blue eyes looked into those silver ones. A certain hunger was beginning to boil underneath that calm, cool, and collected façade.

Ruby hadn't realized she was staring, "What do you mean?" A bewildered look was on her face, she felt like a child getting caught with their hands in the cookie jar.

Weiss smiled, for once the gladiator was caught off guard, "I mean, you stare as if you're looking at a goddess." A cunning smile as the slave observed the glazed over eyes of her guest.

Weiss Schnee was without a doubt drunk.

Which wasn't a surprise since the merchant had drank the cask of wine while lost in thought.

"…I'm sorry if I've offended you." Ruby was unsure of how to handle the situation, all the times before she was usually ordered what to do, no thinking was necessary as she would just let her body obey what ever command was given.

This was different… a good different.

"Tell me, when was the last time you've laid with someone?" Weiss was straightforward; once more she sat on the couch, this time her legs crossed elegantly.

Her dress rode up her thigh, revealing more of the marble like skin that Ruby had trouble peeling her eyes from.

"It's been at least 2 months…" The slave responded, her ears heated up at the thought. She couldn't deny that there was days that she felt those carnal desires, but she was able to erase most thoughts by a hard day of training. For the merchant, it had been far too long since she had laid with anyone.

"Those female nobles, I assume?" Weiss questioned, the absolute power she felt from watching the young slave squirm at the mere talk of sex.

She never would have guessed the infamous Reaper to have such an innocent side.

"Yes." Ruby nodded, the way Weiss looked at her – there was hunger in the merchant's eyes.

"You're so shy with this conversation." Her legs shifted as she re-crossed them with her left leg on top, and then the fact that the Schnee didn't take her eyes off Ruby as she had done so. "Or is it because you _want_ something?"

The Schnee noble wanted something… or rather someone. It had been far too long since she had done _it_ with someone.

There was only so much she could do alone to _quench_ certain _needs._

Weiss stood as she motioned for Ruby to come closer to her, the slave hesitantly stepped forward, "There's many things I want, some things I've denied myself for so long..." She ran a hand across the slave's shoulder; she stopped where the bandages began across her chest. A concerned look encompassed her face, "How bad is it now?" She fingered the bandage gently.

The gladiator was caught off guard by the gentle tone, not many nobles would show such concern – genuine concern at that, "It's mostly healed, I can't hold a sword for another week in case they reopen."

Weiss stepped back, she bit her lip at what she was thinking, "Can I see?"

Ruby complied by taking a step back, turning around, and then removing her tunic. With a tug, she unraveled the bandages that wrapped around her torso.

The lacerations were deep and had begun to leave scars, they decorated the entirety of her backside and were pink in color to show the skin was still tender. Out of curiosity, Weiss ran a hand along an older scar that had the same laceration pattern as the lashings that were still healing.

"You've been whipped before?" She saw that the old scars formed a cross on her back.

"Yes." Ruby answered, she shivered at the girl's touch; Weiss touched her as if she were made of glass that would break.

She couldn't remember the last time she had been touched so gently.

The feather like finger tips found another scar at her waist, a sword wound, and then they travelled up her sides, coming across the different badges of honor that the gladiator had earned in the Arena. She felt a breath on her shoulder; the hands began to move forward to her abdomen where there were more scars and marks from battles in the arena. Weiss reveled in feeling the taught muscles that decorated the gladiator, they felt like stone at her fingertips. And the scars that decorated her body – she wanted to kiss each and every one of them to see if they would disappear.

It happened so unexpectedly; a kiss was planted on the gladiator's shoulder.

"You've been through a lot, haven't you?" Weiss asked in a small voice.

The gladiator simply nodded as she stood with the merchant's arms around her. Her heart beat loudly within her ears, as if she were fighting an impossible battle in the coliseum.

Ruby turned, she placed her rough hands against the waist of the smaller girl before her. The porcelain skin contrasted against her tanned hands, and she couldn't help but revel how Weiss felt exactly how she thought her to be.

Like fine marble.

Their kiss tasted sweet like the empty cask of wine.

Clumsy hands gently grabbed the merchant by her face as to bring her closer, the kiss deepened as Weiss tried to remove the space between the two. The garment she wore began to annoy her as she broke away unexpectedly.

She smiled to herself as she saw those silver eyes burn like steel inside the forge. They watched her every move as she removed the dress, the fine fabric fell into a pool around her feet, the gladiator complied as she kicked off her leather boots and undid her breeches.

Once more the two locked lips, Weiss threw herself into the arms of the gladiator and the two fell back onto the fine silk sheets that were spread out on the bed. The gladiator took no head of the luxurious feeling against her skin, rather she was too engrossed by the woman in her arms as she began to grind her hips against the gladiator's thigh.

Ruby could feel her interim Master's thirst, and she wanted nothing more than to be the one to quench it. She recalled what the female nobles had asked of her, and began to apply some of the techniques she was taught in order to please them.

With a firm grip, she grabbed the supple cheeks of the woman riding her, a pleased groan erupted as a result. The gladiator broke the kiss with the merchant and instead trailed her lips down the woman's neck, going further south as she nipped the skin at her chest, and then latched on to her pert breast. Softly, she teased her with her tongue as her hands ran a path up and down the inside of her thighs. Every now and again her fingers would brush against the Weiss' sex, each time the snow haired woman would squirm her hips, as those playful hands would retreat away.

Weiss moaned as she placed her hands on the strong shoulders of the gladiator to support herself, she felt her form rise as the slave sat up with the merchant in her lap. Ruby shifted her arms to support the woman in her lap better, gently she laid her down, the body in her arms was like a religion to the slave – she wanted to worship everything that Weiss had to offer.

Never in her 21 years of living had Ruby felt like this for anyone.

With a final kiss on the pert breast she had played with, Ruby stopped her ministrations to look over the goddess before her. She ran a hand across the unmarred skin, her thumb caressing her navel as it passed. Her other hand traced the curves of her porcelain skin.

Her she was, one as scarred and damaged as she, _fucking_ an Altesian elite.

She smirked as Weiss whimpered for more, her hips moving off the bed as her body begged to be touched, to be caressed, to be pleased.

To be absolutely worshipped by the slave.

Ruby complied as she dipped her head low. She planted a chaste kiss on the dip of her pelvis; from there she ran her tongue to Weiss' center where she buried her nose in the soft white tresses there.

She had a feeling that white was Weiss' natural hair color.

"Oh!" Weiss gasped as she felt the hot tongue run a lazy path up her throbbing pussy.

With both hands she grabbed on to the back of Ruby's head as she tried to pull the gladiator closer. The slave complied as licked down the slit with the back of her tongue, with her thumbs, she spread those luscious lips and then worked her tongue inside of the withering merchant.

Weiss could have sworn her moan echoed through out the Villa, then her voice caught in her throat, as she could feel that hot tongue darting in and out of her sex but giving slow and lengthy licks within her folds. But the best was when Ruby would come to top of her sex, where a swollen clit impatiently waited some attention.

It was torturous at first as Ruby would slowly trace the tip of her tongue around the clit and then flick it across. The teasing member would trace another line down to the inside of her sex; the gladiator would repeat the pattern a few times.

Then it came all at once, she felt Ruby's warm and wet lips surround the nub. Weiss's eyes shot open as she felt two of the gladiator's digits be inserted inside of her. With practiced hands, she slid her fingers in and out of the merchant, her tongue flicking across her clit at the same time. Weiss gripped on to the short hair harder as she felt the gladiator pick up speed, the sound of the gladiator's saliva and the merchant's own juices could be heard mixing together as her hips began to grind against that rather talented mouth.

"Oh… Oh Oum, I'm gonna cum." Weiss moaned as her head threw itself back, "Oh please, Oh Oum, please – fuck me."

Ruby was pleased with the dirty words she never would have dreamed to fall from the merchant's mouth.

"Ruby, please. Fuck me, faster, please – Ruby, please." She panted as she gripped the back of the gladiator's neck and head.

The slave complied dutifully, she felt Weiss tighten around her fingers and those hips lifted further into her mouth. A shockwave ignited in her whole body as she violently had an orgasm. Ruby looked up and was delighted with the expression on Weiss face, her mouth gasping for air as her chest heaved.

Her body was shaking still.

"You're… really good at this." Weiss voice was a bit hoarse as she sat up to latch her lips on to Ruby's. The merchant groaned at the taste of herself and saw a trail of her own love juices connect the two by their lips when she finally pulled away. She didn't realize how wet she had become.

"I'm glad you're pleased." The slave smiled softly.

Unexpectedly, Ruby fell back onto the sheets – she looked up to see those piercing diamond like eyes look into her own.

"What are-"

With a graceful tilt of her head, those disheveled white locks pooled around the slave. A sensual kiss planted firmly on to her lips before the merchant pulled away. On her lips was painted a devious smile.

"I want to hear you squirm, my dear gladiator."

* * *

"I'm glad you had a pleasant time here then, Snowflake." Roman smirked at the merchant who had just finished eating an early breakfast with him.

Weiss narrowed her eyes at the slave master, "It was the wine." She quipped back as she tossed back another cup full of water, she wanted this headache to just disappear, "But I must say, you have well _trained_ slaves." Torchwick only chuckled more at the comment.

She thought back to earth shattering fucking that-

Weiss shook her head of the indecent thoughts.

But she had to admit that it was greatly needed in order to relieve the stress of running her business.

"I'll be off then." Weiss sighed as she heard the carriage out front pull up, Roman arranged a ride for the merchant to get back to her Villa.

The slave master smiled to himself, as he was positive that he had ensured that he would stay in the Schnee's good graces.

It was still early in the morning and the gladiator prospects were out doing the prescribed rigorous physical training in the courtyard, Neo didn't have to over see most of the training as all the prospects knew by heart what their drills were.

Ruby looked on as she exited the Villa and went into the courtyard; a few slaves caught sight of her, but shrugged it off as they had an idea of why she was leaving so early in the morning. She stopped as she caught sight of Neptune who heaved his log across his shouldersand then threw the blasted thing, the Reaper took note that the log had been tossed further than the first time she had ever seen him do it a few months ago.

The blue haired slave looked up at Ruby before he bent over to heave the log and repeat his throw.

The expression on Ruby's face was unreadable as she studied the bruises that decorated Neptune's body. He looked even worse than he did before; it was evident that he was tired and possibly malnourished as his cheeks were beginning to hollow out.

"When was the last time you had a proper meal?" The Reaper questioned as she stood over the prospect.

Neptune's downcast expression said it all despite his silence. Ruby looked around at the other prospects to ensure she had their attention.

"No one fuck with his food anymore." She simply stated.

The courtyard remained silent as Ruby walked into the slave compound and into the area where the private quarters were located.

"Someone's in a good mood – I thought we agreed that we'll let him _learn_ until we can hold swords." Sun teased as he could easily read the obvious after glow that still surrounded Ruby, "Was it Lady Cinder again?" He wagged his brows as he wore a smug grin.

"Shush." Ruby pushed the man out of her way as she made way to her quarters, "And I just said to stop fucking with his food."

Sun pretended to be in deep thought as he stroked his non-existent beard, "Oh right, Lady Cinder wasn't here…. But Lady Weiss was, I heard from Octavia who heard from another house slave who heard from _everyone's favorite_ blond slave Amelia that you _happily_ attended to her needs." He spoke animatedly as he had no shame in partaking of the gossip that took place amongst the house slaves.

The younger gladiator narrowed her eyes at the Faunus, "What makes you say happily?"

"They say that they've never heard someone as loud as Lady Schnee before." A worn down pillow was thrown at Sun's face, the Faunus dodged in time, "And Lady Malachite said that you need to stop by the infirmary and have Octavia attend to your back."

Ruby nodded as she simply looked over the woodcarving she was making, it was reminiscent of a Beowulf, but it was still incomplete. She had made a few other carvings as well, it was something she did in to take her mind off things when she didn't have to train, or fight, or tend to guests. The gladiator picked up the carving and thoughtfully inspected it.

"I think this is the best mood I've seen you in." Sun commented as he took a seat on the floor, he was careful to not lean his back that was still tender. He noticed the small smile that graced Ruby's lips, usually a hard scowl was always present, "You like Lady Weiss, don't you?"

The carving was dropped on the floor, "Y-You're delusional." A slight flush was visible on her cheeks as Ruby bent over to pick up the carving.

"You know, I never would have guessed that the uptight kind was more your type – I thought something exciting and passionate like Lady Cinder was more your-"

"Lady Weiss _is_ passionate." Ruby huffed as she glared at the Faunus, "I was only doing my job that Master Torchwick commanded of me."

"Probably the most willing you've ever been to do his bidding." A shit-eating grin was seen on the Monkey King's face.

Ruby threw the carving as hard as she could at that face.

"Aye, this is the most riled up I've seen you in a while." Nadir yawned as he looked over the gladiator, "I was worried for a bit when you weren't back by night fall, but when I heard from the house slaves that you were sleeping peacefully while wrapped up in Lady Schnee, I was surprised." A steady smile, "Don't you usually leave your guests when you're done with your business?"

Ruby glowed a deeper shade of red as she spotted Bolin step out from his private quarters and join in on the group.

"Oh? Did Ruby actually _enjoy_ a night with a guest for once?" The eldest gladiator chimed, "If memory serves correctly, you _always_ complain about what a chore it is, or how sore your jaw is after a night of-"

"Okay!" Ruby declared as she finally had enough of the teasing, "I liked it, for once… Oum dammit, just let me… leave me be." She muttered.

"Ah, I remember basking in my first successful after glow." Nadir commented sarcastically.

"As if you would know." The youngest gladiator scoffed.

"What it's like to fuck someone I like? Of course I do." The wilding smirked as he caught sight of how red the tips of the girl's ears were turning.

Sun looked upward as he raised a brow, "Who would let a Boarbatusk like you sleep with them?" He jested, this was the first that Nadir mentioned a woman.

Nadir lightly kicked the slave as he took a seat on Ruby's bedding; Bolin listened in as he leaned on the archway leading to Ruby's quarters. The wilding ran a hand threw his pink locks that he had tied up at the moment.

Nadir Shiko wasn't nearly as quick as the other three gladiators, but he was sturdy and strong. His blue eyes closed as his great chest heaved a deep breath; his tan skin was also decorated in scars that he had received from the arena. A peculiar one could be seen on his left hand.

He had lost his shield and attempted to block a thrust aimed for his head. The result was being stabbed through his hand. Needless to say, he won that match.

"She was the leader of our roaming tribe, and by Oum she was strong – she could easily best most of the men in the tribe." The wilding smiled fondly, "The first time I began to notice her as a woman was when she rescued me from an Ursa when I was younger. Her hair was bright and when she fought she looked as majestic as the kingly beasts that roamed Vacuo."

"Does your lion have a name?" Bolin poked fun as well, Nadir glared back at the eldest gladiator.

"Arslan Altan, she was the former chief's daughter." The wilding's eyes glowed as he recalled the memories he had made with her, "I only hope that she's doing well now."

The Auburn Tribe had wandered too far north into the Mistral Kingdom territories; supposedly they were trespassing on farmlands when they were passing through. This resulted in a scuffle with the local guards there and their tribe was raided in the dead of the night.

Nadir and a few other warriors were captured, but the bulk of the tribe had gotten away.

He often thought of those olive green eyes on nights that he felt lonely.

Bolin Hori placed a hand on Nadir's shoulder as he walked over and took a seat next to the wilding. His loose clothing revealing his own bandages, but his built frame was apparent. He was lean as he too relied on his agility in the arena, but his strength was also something to not scoff at. Sometimes, when Sun would coax him into a friendly wrestling match, he could toss the Faunus like a sack of potatoes.

"Reese Chloris, she was the neighborhood tom boy while I grew up with her. Our houses were right next door to each other." Bolin chipped in, "She used to be able to kick my ass off of any tree we climbed together, and by Oum the years were wonderful to her." He recalled an incident with the local baker's son who tried to win favor by bringing her family bread everyday for 3 weeks straight. "She was feisty."

"In bed?" Sun's tone was suggestive.

The eldest gladiator narrowed his brown eyes at the Faunus, "No, you perverted monkey. Not everyone thinks with their dick." The group chuckled at the joke, "We only kissed, finally, after it was known I was going to become a slave to work off my father's debt."

"…Would she be upset if she found out you weren't a virgin anymore?" Nadir questioned.

Bolin shook his head, "No, she wouldn't, just like how I wouldn't be upset if she wasn't one anymore either. It's been 6 years. Plus, Master Torchwick is famous for his services." He laughed lightly at the thought, "She's been helping out my mother and sister though… I never asked her to do that." The eldest gladiator looked down at the floor.

"Has she thought about visiting whenever your mother and sister come over?" Ruby asked, she never recalled seeing anyone else coming to visit Bolin.

"She has, but I told my mother to tell her to stay away – I don't want Master Torchwick to find out about her… My gut just tells me that." Bolin frowned, "But she has gone to a few of my gladiator matches." He recalled the few times he would see that beautiful turquoise hair in the stands, he could feel her gaze every time she was there and he was in the thick of it all. "I'm going to help her run the flower shop she inherited from her family."

"I find that hard to imagine." Sun smiled at Bolin, "It's a good gig you got waiting for you."

"If your thieving ways doesn't land you back here as a slave, come visit and I might be able to get you a proper job." Bolin shot back.

Ruby smiled as she took the remaining space on the bedding to sit down.

It was peaceful moments like this that reminded her how much more to life there was.

* * *

"Weiss, it's okay." Pyrrha giggled at the flustered merchant who walked up and down the Schnee Villa's parlor room. "It happens all the time."

"Maybe here, but if Father had found out that I had taken a _slave_ to bed-"

"Didn't your Father frequently do the same?" The red head pointed out.

Weiss spurted, "That... That's different." She tried to reason.

"No, it's not." Pyrrha mused, "Is this your first time laying with someone?"

"Oum no!" The merchant turned a brilliant shade, "I just… she's a slave."

"They're still human."

Weiss sighed as she sat down, "I know…" She looked at her friend as they drank some tea that was a specialty of Atlas. "I'm glad you feel the same. I know back home, to even say that is almost taboo."

"It's the same here, it's just so deeply rooted into our lifestyle and culture. The Kingdom was built on slaves since they were the one to lay the foundation and build the grand palace of the Lionheart royal family." Pyrrha sighed at the sentiment.

The mood was taking a dive from the earlier light heartedness.

"Perhaps we should change the conversation." Weiss suggested as she sat down and drank her tea.

"So the Reaper is very _talented_ , I presume?"

"Pyrrha!" Weiss exclaimed, as she turned red faced once more.

"I am only kidding." Her green eyes glowed in mirth; she had taken to Weiss so well over the past few weeks. "I met with the King's Council yesterday to make my case."

The merchant's eyes went wide, "I suppose there's perks to having your father be a part of it."

The champion nodded as she sipped her tea, "He managed to get me an audience – it's relevant as Councilman Salem and my father will go to the island of Vytal to discuss the peace treaty on the King's behalf."

The news spread like wildfire once the Kingdom of Vale surrendered in it's territory war against Mistral.

"So will they do it?" Weiss was curious.

A knowing smile graced the champion's lips, "I was hoping you would allow me to tell Jaune the good news before it becomes official. Councilman Oobleck is currently writing up the official documents, they'll be released once the treaty is finalized."

"Of course! This is wonderful news!" The merchant was ecstatic as she called over to Klein to bring Jaune in from outside where he was allowed to train with a wooden shield and sword.

"But how will you know which slave is really a prisoner of war and which isn't?" Weiss questioned, she imagined it was going to be a messy process, as slave owners did have to pay a good amount of coin for a slave to begin with.

"Councilman Oobleck said that there's official records of who's a true prisoner of war, and slave masters were also given a copy of the official documentation when they purchased their slaves as well as some of their personal affects – like Commander Arc's Valesian Coin." Pyrrha had a Coin that was issued to her when she joined the Mistral Army as well; it was a tradition in most militaries. "My father suggested that those who have prisoners be compensated 100 gold lien per prisoner." Pyrrha explained as she looked out the Villa's window to see the blond Commander approaching the house. "Councilman Salem also suggested that slave owners found violating the release be fined 600 gold lien in addition to the prisoner being set free."

"Where would they get money from that? Surely the king's treasury isn't so big to be forking over so much lien?" Weiss was slightly concerned.

The champion smiled sheepishly at the merchant's concerned, "There is going to be an increase in taxes soon, but nothing to warrant rioting – we do have to cover the salaries of those who served in the Mistral Army. Another place where we will get money from is that part of the peace treaty is that Vale will be imposed a war tax for the duration of how long the war was."

"A three year war tax?" Weiss' eyes went wide; the country would be reeling from that for a while. "The country would riot."

"That's the initial proposition, father says that they only want a years worth of war taxation from them – but they want to start high to see how much they can take from them." A devious tactic that will probably prove successful as Vale had already conceded to defeat by the Mistrali forces (with help from their Atlas counterparts of course).

"I see." Weiss smiled as she watched Jaune Arc enter the parlor the two were relaxing in.

"Lady Weiss," Jaune bowed his head to his master, "And Lady Pyrrha."

The two Commanders locked eyes and smiled at the others.

Weiss caught the exchange; she would tease her friend later about it.

* * *

RWBY Order: I enjoyed our talks earlier, I hope all is going well with you. Hopefully this clears up any confusion about Yang.

Rapter267: I don't plan to have Torchwick to have much fighting skills, hence Junior and his men acting as his guards. I like pushing things to the limit, we'll see how well everyone holds out with their restraint.

Darkerpaths: As far the justification of slavery goes, I didn't cover it so much in this details as I wanted to kind of 'conform Weiss' into Mistral's culture (violence, sex, parties, and other debaucheries). I do promise you that chapter 5 will do the job in fleshing out the slavery bit... as well as Pyrrha and Jaune if you were curious. And Junior is just a henchman.

Grn Drgnzrd: Slow burn on Neptune's true part in the story, I do enjoy smacking him around - but I like to think myself benevolent from time to time. See you next chapter as well.

Shifty830: To Spartacus or not to Spartacus, is the question. haha

Red Renegade 777: I've got big plans for all the main characters from RWBY, they'll be brought into the fold once the time is appropriate. I can promise you that Chapter 5 will flesh out some of those other characters. Tis a secret for now for who else may or may not be slaves. And war isn't always the end goal - maybe some other focus in life. Stay tuned in if you can, I promise the rest of the questions you have will be answered.

Lecoj03: Thank you! I really wanted to avoid writing something too corny or too much of a cliche, I'm glad you've enjoyed it so far. I like to take my time fleshing out characters, I've always found it too much of a chore to go into so much details all at once. As far as Bolin, I'm not sure if you've noticed but I've taken liberties of using Team ABRN and Team NDGO to take the places of some of the side characters.

Dantikat: I can only hope that I can capture those conflicts well enough, I will say that Gladiator has been a fun challenge for me as a writer.

Firehawk242: Followed by the 1130 report on Salem's - oh wait, I may have said too much.

To everyone else who has read and reviewed, thank you once more for taking the time to do so - I do enjoy reading what everyone has to say. Once again, it really does mean a lot to me that so many people enjoy this story. Definitely gives me a lot of motivation.

I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter of Gladiator and hope to see a bunch of you in the next one.

Cheers,

DevilRed


	5. Gilded Dreams

" _Come on, Rubes. I have your favorite!" Lilac eyes appeared merry as she held the basket filled strawberries. The wild blond mane bounced as the girl ran away._

" _W-Wait!" Ruby reached out her hand, she didn't want her to ran away, "Don't go so fast!" She tried to grab for the girl, but all she caught was thin air._

 _And then smoke, just thick black smoke that surrounded Ruby from all sides. She could feel the heat rising and from outside she could hear the panicked screams._

" _W-Water!" The young Rose called out as she tried to reach through the smoke with outstretched arms._

 _But she knew it was futile._

 _Abruptly, a beautiful angel with snow-white hair and eyes that glowed like diamonds latched her hands on to her outstretched one. The smoke cleared away and made a path for Ruby as she now noticed she was dressed in her Arena attire._

" _I want to see you squirm my dear gladiator."_

The slave awoke with a start.

Ruby breathed in deep as she shook the tendrils of sleep from her mind. The sun wasn't up yet as it became apparent it was still the middle of the night.

It's been so long since she dreamed about her long lost sister… and it's been many nights now that she has dreamed of a certain Schnee merchant.

The fire dust crystal that lit up her room glowed dimly; she turned her attention to the carvings she had lined up on the windowsill in her otherwise barren room. A carving in the shape of a coin could be seen, pristinely etched into the wood was Vale's emblem, on the reverse side of the coin was a feather and sword crossing together – it was the symbol of the scout who had to be agile and strong as they were often sent alone (and unafraid… mostly) to forge the way for the main body of troops.

Torchwick held on to her actual coin, which she was glad for, as the round metal object was a prized possession for her.

A loud screech of the iron gates could be heard, silver eyes narrowed as she knew that there was no reason for there to be any activity outside just yet, sunrise was still a few hours away as the crescent moon was still high above over head.

"Bring them here." She heard Torchwick's annoyed voice.

Cautiously, she stepped out to the courtyard while remaining in the entryway of the private quarter's section of the slave compound. The slaver, Neo, held a cube the size of her hand, the piece of an earth dust crystal that was shaped into an arrow floated as it remained trained on one of the two slaves that looked worse for wear. Junior held out a second cube with a similar floating piece of earth dust crystal as he stood menacingly over second slave.

'Even if you can get out of the Villa, you can't take the collar off… and those cubes emit a warning sound as soon as you get a certain distance away.' Ruby observed, as she simply stayed silent.

Most slaves knew that the earth dust crystal was the key to removing their collar; they also doubled as a tracker as the crystal would point in the direction of where you were once taken out of the cube and placed on top. Ruby wasn't sure what Roman had set the distance at as she knew the prospects would be tasked to carry heavy logs to the lake and back – that task was meant to increase their endurance as it was a quarter mile there and a quarter back. Maybe it varied, maybe it was adjustable – Ruby wasn't too sure unless she could get her hands on one.

She knew for a fact that each collar had it's own unique cube that paired up with it. She wondered where Roman kept all of his stashed away; she had never seen them out in the open whenever she was in the Villa.

Junior walked with a noticeable limp; in the glow of the fire dust crystal she saw that his breeches were soaked in his blood. Neo had a small cut over her cheek, but what stood out the most was where her free hand was over her abdomen. She had been stabbed in the side as she wore a serious expression.

"Ah Red, so sorry to wake you at this hour." Roman announced. Neo and Junior looked over as the slaves snapped their heads to the gladiator. A few more of Junior's guards surrounded them as well. Ruby recognized the two run away slaves as the new guys that Torchwick had just purchased almost two weeks ago. "Can you grab a sword for me?" Despite the how cheerful he sounded, Ruby knew better as it was apparent Torchwick was beyond pissed.

The gladiator complied as she quickly headed inside, she heard Torchwick bark more orders for Miltiades to be fetched from her home away from the Villa and that Octavia be awakened as well. Ruby knew that only Junior and a few of his men actually lived in the Villa. Sometimes Neo would stay over (as it appeared she was spending another night here since she was out hunting down the run away slaves), but she knew the slaver had her own personal home somewhere in the city.

A gladius that was usually meant for coliseum matches hung on the wall with a few others. The edge was always kept sharp and the metal as clean as possible. Dutifully, she grabbed the sword and headed back out to the courtyard.

She saw Neo being motioned over to the infirmary in the slave compound by Octavia while Junior limped behind the two. The remainder of Junior's men kept a circle around the slaves with their swords pointed at them, it was unnecessary as the two run away slaves were in shackles at this point and were forced into kneeling. The tracker cubes were both held by Roman as he stood over the slaves.

"You stabbed both my slaver and personal guard." Roman seethed; he shoved the cubes into the Reaper's arms and grabbed the sword from her. "And you both ran away from home, do you know how that makes me feel?"

"Fuck your feelings!" The slave snapped back at the man.

Roman thrust the gladius forward and buried the tip into the slave's gut. Ruby assessed it as a non-fatal wound – but if it got infected, that would be a different story.

Unexpectedly, the second slave jumped at the sword in an attempt to help his friend. Both of his shackled hands reached out as he made a grab for the hilt of the sword

It happened quickly, before the second slave could even grab the sword in Roman's hand, the surrounding guards already jumped forward.

Three swords skewered him as they protruded from his chest, abdomen, and back. The slave paused, as if perplexed at his current predicament – it was obvious his mind was still trying register what exactly had happened to his body. Like a small creek flowing through a forest, his lifeblood came leaking out of his new orifices. One by one the swords were extracted and the creek became a river.

His shackled hands reached for the side of his mouth, once he pulled them away his eyes went wide in shock at how stained in red they were. With a final glance at his friend, his whole body went limp. The slave master smiled at the pool of blood that was beginning to gather beneath the body.

"Agil!" The other slave cried out, Roman proceeded to twist the tip of the blade a bit, which caused the man to grunt in pain. "You… bitch!" He was red in the face.

A twitch was seen in the slave master's left eye, "Wrap up his wound and throw him on the first slave transport to Atlas – Jacques sent word that they found a new dust mine in the far north and are in need of more hands – apparently they're running into the issue of their slaves getting frostbitten."

One of the guards nodded his head, "The price?"

"I don't give a damn, just make sure he ends up in that ice box." Torchwick bent over the man, "You and your buddy were just thieves, it was a simple 7 year sentence as a slave and all would be fine."

"You don't even know how hard it is outside the kingdom, between trying to properly raise the land and paying tax for the guard to stick around and keep wandering Grimm out – they've raised the tax so many times the past few years for this fucking war. Of course we would have to resort to some underhanded means to make ends meet!" The slave gasped as the sword tip was removed from his gut.

The slave master shrugged, "I'm not the one who got caught in the end dear Henry…" He crossed his arms as he pondered for a bit, "If memory serves, you have a wife out there… I think her name was Paula, was it not? You have a farm in your name south-west of the kingdom… Higabana!" Torchwick snapped his fingers, "It's a nice place, it's been a long time since I've visited – perhaps I should arrange a trip soon."

"N-No…" Henry stuttered as his eyes went wide with fright, "You leave her out of this." He threatened under his breath, "I will fucking kill you if you do anything to her!"

Ruby looked on sympathetically towards the man.

Roman smirked as he motioned for the guards to take the man away to the docks of Mistral.

"Oh wait!" Torchwick called for the guards to stop, he turned to Ruby and grabbed the two cubes in hand and the gladius was placed in her hand. One cube's earth crystal pointed towards the dead man while the other at Henry's collar. Roman grabbed the floating crystal and inserted it into a slit on the collar, the collar released itself and Roman grabbed it. A clip holder was revealed on the bottom of the cube and Roman attached the collar there.

Another guard appeared with a regular handcuff that went around Henry's neck, the shackles were attached to that as well as his hands and feet to limit his mobility to a strangled walked.

Ruby observed her master repeated the same action on the dead slave's collar.

Roman caught her staring, "Don't get any funny ideas now Red," He grabbed the earth dust crystal used for the dead slave's collar and walked behind Ruby.

He inserted the earth crystal into her collar.

Only for Ruby to immediately feel it constrict around her neck. She began gasping for air as the collar tightened around her. Roman pulled out the earth crystal.

"Go to bed, Red. You got to help train up Bolin and Nadir for their pair match together in a few days. They managed to capture three Ursas for them to face off against in the Taming of the Beast event." Torchwick wore a smug grin as he left the slave on the ground; the collar began to loosen – very slowly.

Ruby had almost passed out from the whole ordeal.

* * *

"650 gold lien down the fucking drain." Torchwick seethed as he crunched the numbers, 'If those two boneheads don't pull a fucking win in a few days, we're going to be in trouble.' He had to pay everyone's salary at the end of the month, which was a week from now.

And there was the fact that he had taxes to pay to the local collector very soon as well.

If push comes to shove he could omit the cooking staff for a month or two and maybe a few of Junior's men, but he couldn't skip out on Neo, the Malachite twins, and Junior himself – it would cause too much strain on their relationship (especially if he withholds their pay after being _stabbed_ by those two insolent slaves) and he would lose some credibility as well.

He paced about the office alone, he had a reputation to uphold and it wouldn't do him any good if anyone found out about this financial mess that he was teetering into.

'Those two better fucking win,' Roman thought to himself, he decided to up his bet with the local casino in town – to help cover the losses of the two slaves he had recently purchased. 'I might have to throw two of the prospects into the Arena… but they're risky to bet on individually – maybe put them together in another Taming of the Beast event with those with a few arena experiences under their belt…. I will probably lose one or two depending on what beast Cinder has lined up…'

The slave master went to work again as he grabbed an empty scroll to write on.

* * *

"Ruby!" Sun's voice echoed off the walls of the private quarters area, Nadir and Bolin were still out in the courtyard training together to get ready for the event in a few days. The Reaper was currently relaxing as she worked on the finishing touches for the Beowulf carving.

Ruby looked up at her friend as she set down the craving and whittling knife, she hadn't seen her friend since yesterday evening when Lady Dew Gayl came for a _visit_. "What's up?" She raised a brow at Sun's slight disheveled look – that just fucked type of look.

"They're releasing you guys!" Sun reported triumphantly.

What?

The Faunus must be speaking a different language.

"Releasing… us?" Ruby slowly repeated.

Sun shook his head as he took a moment to catch his breath, "I heard from Lady Gayl, Mistral and Vale are releasing their prisoners of war!"

Ruby Rose became still as stone.

The words were definitely in a different language, as the young gladiator couldn't comprehend what they meant.

"What in Oum's name are you talking about?" She blurted out, bewildered by her friend in front of her.

The Faunus burst out into a huge smile as he wrapped his arms around Ruby's waist and lifted the gladiator into the air.

"You're. Going. To. Be. Free." He spelled out as he twirled her around.

The Monkey King's smile grew twice in size as he watched those silver orbs light up in absolute joy.

"You're fucking kidding me? Right?" She still couldn't believe him.

Sun shook his head as he spun the girl he considered to be a sister around in a circle, "No! This is real! Commander Arc was declared a free man as soon as Councilman Oobleck released the decree! He's going to help facilitate the release of all the prisoners!"

Ruby broke out into laughter as she clutched onto the Faunus. Sun mirrored it as he began to laugh jovially as well.

The room seemed so much brighter, despite the fact that evening would be setting in soon. The colors of her once dreary room looked vibrant and seemed to glow. She felt as if she were the great Oum himself with this news.

"Sun! I'm going to be free!" Ruby exclaimed between her fits of laughter.

And like an Ursa's heavy strike, it hit her.

Two years and she could finally be free.

She could finally go home to her small cottage right outside of Vale, where she lived down the street from fellow comrades-in-arms Ren and Nora. She would finally be able to go to the market and pick out the fresh strawberries and other fruits that Ms. Peach grew in her garden.

"Sun…" The girl's voice broke, her silver eyes burned red with tears that began to spill, "I'm going home."

"Yeah, you're going home." Sun set the smaller girl down and wrapped her up in his embrace, "You're getting out of here."

"I'm going home." The gladiator mumbled into Sun's shirt, tears running down her face uncontrollably. The Faunus sat down on the bedding and allowed the smaller slave to cry, it brought back memories of Ruby's first few weeks at the Villa – before she became the Reaper - she was just someone who was trying to figure out what to do in her current disposition.

"It's been two years now, huh?"

"Yeah, it has."

Ruby smiled, she was truly going to go home soon.

* * *

" _It is with great pride that I welcome you all into the ranks of Vale's great army."_

 _A battalion of brand new soldiers stood in a tight formation before the Beacon Tower, on the balcony of the great tower stood the great King. Their forest green theme was apparent as they stood in their shiny and brand new armor._

" _However, it is also with a heavy heart that I may one day have to ask the impossible from each and everyone of you to support and defend our great lands. Despite how peaceful it seems now, I must remind everyone that there is always turmoil and strife boiling beneath the surface – forces of evil we may not always see, but must remain vigilant to in order to defend the Kingdom of Vale." King Ozpin went on as he looked over the faces of all the young soldiers._

" _I wish you Oum's speed and good will." Ozpin drew his great silver sword from by his side and raised high above the masses before him, "Long live Vale!" He shouted._

" _Long live Vale!" Ruby had her sword drawn in her right hand, for ceremony purposes, "Long live the King!" Her voice thundered together with the men and women that surrounded her._

 _She beamed brilliantly among the ranks of the Valesian soldiers, for the first time the orphan truly felt a part of something._

 _Today, Ruby Rose was 16 years old and she received her first assignment after enlisting into the Valesian Army. She decided on trying to become a scout, an unsung hero that would be tasked to forge ahead of the main body to blaze a path to safety for everyone else, as well as ascertaining the enemy's position for tactical battle plans._

 _Her drill instructor was a former scout who fought in the 5-year war against Atlas (they tried to expand their territory into the island of Vytal and a portion of the Sanus continent, it ended in Atlas being ousted and a peace treaty being signed, this took place before Ruby was born)_

* * *

 _The home garrison that Ruby Rose had been assigned to was located on the water's edge of Kingdom, a short boat ride to the island of Patch._

" _Welcome to the 127_ _th_ _Brigade," The man before her stood in front of 15 new soldiers._

 _The 127_ _th_ _wasn't nearly as famed as the other Brigades in the 2_ _nd_ _Division, mainly the 90_ _th_ _Brigade led by Commander Jaune Arc – the Shield of Vale who was famed for taking his brigade and ousting pirates from the island of Patch. The 127_ _th_ _was in fact smaller in size as they were considered a quick reaction type of force, usually sent in first to any conflict to survey the lands and adversary before a much bigger brigade (like the 90_ _th_ _) could come in and clean up the mess._

" _I am Sergeant Lie Ren, I fall under 3_ _rd_ _Battalion's Seeker Company – however, I've been tasked to help sort you new guys into your proper Battalions and Companies." He paced the line of new troops, Ruby recalled that 3_ _rd_ _Battalion was considered the light cavalry and famed for their high deployment tempo – all their companies were equipped with light armor and gear as they were often tasked to forge ahead and clear a path for the rest of the Brigade._

" _Who is Private Ruby Rose?" Sgt. Ren called out._

 _Rose raised her hand promptly._

 _A few whispers could be heard._

" _Isn't 3_ _rd_ _Battalion known as 'certain death'?"_

" _They're low in numbers for a reason – but they rank up quickly because of how many 'vacancies' they go through."_

" _I'll give her two weeks into our first deployment."_

 _Ren coughed loudly to quell the whispers, "Go ahead and follow Corporal Valkyrie, you'll be in the same unit as us. I'll be sure to properly introduce myself once everyone is settled in."_

 _Private Rose nodded as she looked towards the orange haired girl who grinned maniacally at her. Despite the crazed grin, Ruby could sense how Corporal Valkyrie seemed to be a good person._

* * *

Ruby looked down at the carving in her hand, the carving of her coin she had made when she was first allowed to start whittling by her _benevolent master._

She recalled being handed her actual coin by the Commander Port after passing 127th Brigade's scout test. There were two others that passed it with her and Ruby remembered beaming so proudly after receiving the coin.

A light snore could be heard, Ruby smiled at her older brother figure – in fact she considered Nadir and Bolin to be brothers as well. Like a child, she fell asleep into the Faunus' arms and Sun had complied by lying there with her, as to not disturb her.

The gladiator grabbed the blanket and pulled it up to the Faunus' chin.

She looked back down at the carving of her coin

" _That was sick!" Nora exclaimed as she watched Ruby finished sailing through the air and then burying her sword into the Creep Grimm that had tried to blind side the pair._

 _They were forward deployed to the Vacuo and Vale border to quell some conflict with bandits that had arisen in the small towns that straddled the border. 3_ _rd_ _Battalion_

 _This was Ruby's first deployment as a scout, Nora was paired off with her on her first official scouting assignment to show her the ropes._

" _Thanks!" Ruby chirped back as she put her sword back in its scabbard._

" _You're so quick!" Nora commented, "How do you move like that?"_

 _The scout shrugged as she fixed the forest green cape clasped around her shoulders, she wore light armor that was still free blemish and scratches. Proudly clasped to her right side, which helped hold the cape in place was the Valesian emblem._

" _I grew up an orphan, and food wasn't always the best – if you wanted the good stuff you had to take it from the food vendor stalls. You had to be quick if you didn't want to get caught." Ruby joked as they continued their route._

" _But you move like a blur! And then all the flips and twists! You'd be a slippery one to take in a fight." The orange headed scout that was dressed in a similar fashion did a tuck and roll, Ruby could see that her armor had some stories to tell from the different scuffs and marks that decorated it. Instead of a sword, she had a war hammer that was about 3 feet long attached at the hip; the other side of the head had a sharp pick attached to it._

 _Ruby could only imagine how gory the Valkyrie's fights could be, despite the cheerful demeanor she wore._

 _They were looking for anything out of the ordinary; there were reports of bandits in the area from the local town that they had forward deployed to._

 _From a couple yards away, Ruby saw a few apples hanging from a tree._

" _Dibs!" Ruby yelled as she ran to the fruit tree._

 _Before she could even grab the fruit, she heard a scuffle from behind._

 _Nora was held at sword point and two more bandits came out of the brush from behind._

 _The two flanking bandits had their swords held at the ready – they were prepared to impale her friend from behind._

 _And then all she saw was red._

The gladiator closed her eyes as she tried to remember, but she never could. They say you never forget your first kill, but for Ruby – it all happened so fast. It was an ethereal experience as her body simply moved on it's own.

Needless to say, she and Nora were able to make it back to the main forces and report the encounter. It would take a few more months to really clean up the area before Commander Port of the 127th Brigade gave the order to return to home garrison.

Ruby smiled fondly as this would mark the time she would buy her own little cottage right outside of town. Ren and Nora owned a home about an eighth of a mile down the road, they knew the previous owner and was able to help Ruby get the place at a cheaper price.

At 17 years old she finally had a place to call her own.

The lush forests that surrounded her, the noises of the birds that were settled in the trees, the faint hustle and bustle of the Kingdom could be heard if you listened closely.

" _You've done well to fix up the place." Ren commented, he was dressed in his casual jade green tunic that buttoned diagonally and white breeches that were tucked into his leather boots. At his hip were his two weapons that were sickle-like blades, like Nora's war hammer, it was a unique weapon to him._

" _I love the rose bushes you have out in front, did you get them from Ms. Peach?" Nora was dressed in her casual attire of a rose pink skirt and a white tunic, like Ren, she carried her weapon with her._

" _Yeah, thanks for coming over for dinner tonight!" Ruby motioned the two into her humble cottage. The entry way led to a wide-open space, the kitchen was off to the left while the rest of the space was filled with a table and some chairs. The place was still pretty empty, as Ruby had just settled in. There were two doors that led to Ruby's bedroom and washroom area. "How was the walk over? Was it too hot?" She noticed the sun was out all day._

" _Not at all, it was beautiful weather." Ren sat down the basket he carried over which revealed a fresh loaf of bread that Nora had gone to work making earlier._

 _From the stove, Ruby grabbed the beef stew she had been cooking for the past hour._

 _In the oven a sweet smell began wafting through out the cottage, filling the air._

 _Nora took a deep breath of the delectable scent, "Is this your famous cookies you've been telling me about?"_

" _Yup!" The young scout exclaimed, "They should be done by the time we finish eating, I got some milk from town too. So you both are in for a treat." She beamed._

" _Well, I look forward to it. And thank you again for your hospitality Ruby." Ren smiled as he took a seat at the table. His weapon he put aside by the front door, right next to where Ruby kept her sword._

 _Nora did the same with her war hammer before taking a spot next to Ren, "The stew smells amazing – you should come over when Ren makes a roast! The way he cooks meat is magical, practically melts in your mouth!" She salivated at the thought, "You really should Renny, and it's been so long since we've had a roast."_

" _I usually save that for special occasions." Ren shrugged, "It takes some time to prepare, and I have to get just the right cut from the butcher in town."_

" _C'mon Renny! I think Ruby completing her first deployment is just the right occasion." The redhead pleaded again._

 _Ren smiled as his shoulders sighed in defeat, "Alright, I'll go into town tomorrow and see what the butcher has available."_

" _Woohoo! Ya hear that Ruby? We're gonna feast like royalty soon!"_

 _Ruby took the last place at the dinner table as the stew was placed in the center, "I can't wait, and I'll bring over some of my cookies too."_

 _Ruby Rose looked over her friends and then her cottage._

" _What's up, Ruby?" Ren noticed the distant look on his friend's face._

 _The young scout snapped out of her thoughts as she noticed her two guests staring at her, with a smile she cleared her head as she searched for the words to answer Ren's question, "It's just… I used to have a family, but I was so young when I lost them – so I've always had trouble trying to remember what it felt like to be a part of one." She smiled sheepishly, "But I'm sure you both can relate as well." Ruby was slightly embarrassed, as she knew that both of her friends were orphans as well._

" _But we had each other." Nora beamed towards Ren as she placed a hand over his, "I've followed Ren where ever he went, I even enlisted with him."_

" _And threw a big fit when we weren't in the same unit." The Sergeant chided lightly with a big grin._

 _Her sky blue eyes looked into Ruby's, "So… what do you feel now?"_

" _I think this is what it felt like - this, right here and right now."_

 _This was the first time in what seemed to be forever that the orphan truly felt at home._

 _A home that she would give anything to keep._

* * *

"It's a pleasure to finally meet you, Commander Arc." A bespectacled man dressed in refined robes walked about his office. Councilman Bartholomew Oobleck extended his hand to the now free Commander. "Albeit, I'm sure these circumstances are slightly awkward."

"We take pride in our professionalism as soldiers, we train to be the absolute best… and we know when it's time to stand down for the better of the country. I'm just glad that King Ozpin has kept the best interest of the people in mind." Jaune Arc shook the Councilman's hand.

"If it means anything, I casted my vote for no official declaration of war against Vale." Councilman Oobleck stated.

Pyrrha smiled at the man as the two simply nodded, she stood off to the side at window to observe the view from Oobleck's office. Not many had the opportunity to traverse up the top of the Mistrali Twin Mountains that the Grand Palace was built upon. The beautiful of the city below was breath taking, the summer sun shone down on the cobblestone streets of the kingdom and she could see the wall that extended around the city.

They were erected to keep the Grimm out.

She turned her attention to Jaune Arc, dressed in a theme of forest green, black, and gold. He dressed in black breeches that were tucked into leather boots. He wore a white tunic that was embroidered in gold and a signature forest green cape that was clasped together by the Valesian emblem. At his waist hung the Valesian style long sword.

A certain air of authority hung around Jaune as he stood before the Councilman.

"I'm glad you were willing to accept my proposition to help facilitate the release, I'm hoping that it will show good public relations between the two countries to help ease any qualms that the Mistrali citizen may have against Vale – as well as vice versa." Oobleck explained as he looked over the Commander.

"I would be more than happy to assist, I know a fair amount of my men from my own personal Company was captured… I only hope that everyone is still alive to see the way home." Jaune thought to his most trusted friend who had died in the arena at the hand of the Reaper. "This will be bittersweet once we start going down the line…" He had to mentally prepare himself – he knew the conditions that some of these slaves were kept in.

He considered himself one of the lucky ones.

"And I'll be more than happy to lend my assistance as well. We have a lot of people who work under us that could help out with the process too." Pyrrha piped in.

Jaune looked over Pyrrha, she was once a complex adversary on the battlefield who pressured him and his soldiers on the front lines into a tactical retreat – now he looked to her as a fellow comrade-in-arms who possessed the same noble warrior spirit that Jaune's father had instilled into him. "I would like that a lot."

Councilman Oobleck flicked his eyes between the two, a slight grin could be seen on his face, "Well, with that – let's get some formalities out of the way. I've already done an official inquiry at the Office of Official Records; it will take them another 3 days to compile a proper list and everyone's official documentation. Part of this is to ensure that any one who isn't a legitimate prisoner of war doesn't get a free pass." He sighed at the thought; he knew that all slaves weren't thieves, murderers, or other criminals that were thrown into the slavery system. Then there was the people carted off who couldn't pay back loans properly.

Or the young children that could be sold into the system by families in poverty.

"That sounds fantastic." Jaune exclaimed, "I really appreciate that sentiment that the Council has done."

"Oh no, don't thank me – it was Lady Nikos' idea, after all." He motioned to the woman who stood next to the Valesian Commander.

"Was it?" His blue eyes looked over to Pyrrha's jade ones, "I think that's something she forgot to mention when she told me of the prisoner's release."

"I – I thought it was only fair. No one wishes for war, but those who were called upon fought valiantly in my eyes." She seemed a tad bit shy around her Valesian counter part.

"Thank you, really. Thank you, so much."

* * *

The Reaper's stride seemed lighter and her sword much more precise as she danced around Bolin and Nadir's tandem attacks. She raised her shield to block Nadir's heavy blow, she had to really put her back into it to make sure the Wilding didn't take her off her feet.

A flash of blond appeared from behind her, with two swords in hand a heavy blow was poised for Nadir's head. The Wilding jumped back to avoid the blow from the Faunus. Bolin returned the favor in kind as he jumped off of Nadir's back and went sailing over his partner.

The Wilding smiled at the eldest gladiator's antics, Bolin always knew how to keep things interesting – just not too interesting. Sun raised both his swords to block the hit, Sun staggered back under the hit, he nearly lost grip on his swords from the sheer power behind that stunt.

Bolin was blind sided by Ruby as she rushed in with her shield held at the ready; the man tumbled off to the side. Before Ruby could capitalize on the opportune moment, Nadir was quick to come to his partner's aid – but Sun rushed at him before he could meet with Ruby. This provided Ruby enough time to cross swords with Bolin who barely got up to a kneeling position.

The youngest gladiator smiled at the eldest one; there was an absolute thrill that filled her very being, instead of the usual feeling of survival and just carnal instinct. Her mind was clear and her body had never felt nimbler. She spun around to break contact with Bolin's sword, being left-handed in the arena had it's perk as her sword came down on Bolin's unprotected side.

Usually this would catch other gladiators off balance, in the arena her opponent may lose an arm with this move.

But Bolin knew her tricks as he twisted his torso to bring his shield across and barely catch the edge of the blade with side of his shield.

Meanwhile, Sun was relentless in his combinations as he expertly wielded both swords. They seemed to be flying through the air as his swords went left over right over left and then both swords coming across where Nadir's head had been just a split second ago. The wilding was running out of room to back up in to, as Sun didn't pause to give Nadir a moment to regain his footing.

In a true Wilding fashion, he dropped his shield in order to catch Sun's wrist to stop the sword strike. The Monkey King was hasty to bring up his free arm to try to land a thrust on Nadir's side, but the Wilding was quick, (as well as the most experienced in wrestling) and grabbed hold of his other hand while dropping his remaining weapon.

It was a cardinal rule to not lose your weapons in the Arena, but Nadir often bent this rule.

In a battle of brute strength, Sun was sure to lose as he struggled to remain upright. The Faunus knew that as soon as they hit the ground, Nadir could easily subdue him – he's seen the Wilding break a man's neck with his bare hands.

Ruby continued exchanging sword strikes with Bolin when she caught sight of Sun struggling. She watched as Bolin charged straight at her, she dug the tip of the sword into the sand and proceeded to flick the tip skyward as a cloud of dust blinded Bolin.

Taking those precious moments before the temporarily subdued gladiator could recover, Ruby rushed in with her shield raised as fast as she could. Nadir didn't see it coming as he was practically plowed off of his feet – Ruby had thrown her whole body weight into the charge. Sun stumbled back a few steps as he watched Ruby scramble to pick her self off the ground before Nadir could recover. He spotted his swords in the sand; with some well-rehearsed footwork he kicked up the sword handles and caught them easily in the air.

He felt Ruby press up against his back; Sun didn't have to take a second guess that Bolin was coming in for more, as Nadir was quick to pick up his discarded sword.

He loved these mock battles that they would do together.

Torchwick watched from his office on the second floor at his Core Four of gladiators, he smiled as they looked to be in top form and well recovered from the lashings they had received over a month ago.

"Quite the tall order you've requested, Roman." A woman was dressed in a light maroon summer dress that hung over one shoulder. Her ashen colored hair was worn in playful light curls and her amber eyes glowed in humor at her long time friend's predicament.

Roman sighed as he rubbed his temples, "I don't ask for help often, but I need it. I ended up owing more in taxes than I initially thought and the debt collector showed up a month earlier than expected." Another sigh, it was just the two of them in the office as Roman asked for privacy from everyone. "I've always been loyal to the Fall family."

"How much more did you end up owing?" Cinder Fall inquired, "With the war over and the soldiers coming home, we have to pay the troops for their valiant service."

"About 3 times more." Torchwick seethed, he was not happy with his financial predicament at all – he wasn't sure how well he would fare after the next two months, "This is fucking senseless, I shouldn't have bought those damn slaves in the first place." Roman sighed at the lost investment.

"Why not sell back your other prospects?" Cinder suggested, he had slaves to spare… but Roman Torchwick was never known to sell slaves in the first place. She knew how important appearances and relations were to the slave master.

Roman growled, "Do you know how long it usually takes before I let those fools into the arena and to top it off, usually 2 out of 3 prospects die in their first arena appearance." He knew the math and statistics very well at this point, that's why once he gets champions like his Core Four, and he did everything he could to keep them in his inventory. "It costs money, but most importantly _time,_ to get slaves to that level of physical prowess and _discipline_ – I won't ruin a long-term investment for a short-term pit fall."

"And that Bolin kid, you're letting him go soon." The Fall heiress thought aloud, "You wouldn't sit well with the public if you redacted his 'Match for Freedom' at this point." It was highly publicized in order to fill the seats, Bolin Hori's final match in the Arena.

"No… no it would not." Roman sighed, "I need you to do this for me, please."

Cinder thoughtfully looked down at the courtyard at the gladiators who had degraded to some playful wrestling in the sands. Her eyes lit up when she saw the Reaper and Bolin laughing at the antics of the Faunus and Wilding. She couldn't recall the last time (if ever) she's seen the Reaper actually _smile_ let alone laugh; usually a stoic mood was always about her.

She didn't like the look one bit.

"But Red looks so happy." Sarcasm laced her every word, Roman smiled as he recognized it. She turned and faced her friend, "I have a few conditions: What ever your royalties are for Bolin's final match – you forfeit all of it to me."

"And by royalties, you mean just the regular-"

"All of it, including your what ever you gamble your gladiator." Cinder smirked, "I'm friends with the bookkeeper – just in case you've forgotten."

"Way to rub the salt right on in there." The slave master reeled, "Fine, I'll do it – I'll just have to make up for it with Red once she gets back into the arena."

"And two more requests: you let my champion Mercury live when he faces off against Bolin," Cinder already knew how well her slave Mercury would stack up against Bolin, she knew talent when she saw it. A cunning smile replaced her lips as Cinder Fall looked out the window to look over her favorite slave to _play_ with, "And I want some fun time with Red – free of charge of course."

Roman shrugged as he made a mental note on those requests, "When will you be able to get those documents?"

Cinder pondered, "Tonight, I know the guards who work the night shift – I'll send Emerald to go get them." Emerald Sustrai was her personal bodyguard, but her services didn't end there.

"Perfect."

* * *

The Villa was a stark contrast to Roman Torchwick's bright and vibrant color schemes – the interior was decorated in several whites, blues, silvers, and some specks of red that stood out against the marble and stone. It was orderly.

In the private office, there was a tapestry hung up on the wall behind the great oak desk – it was a dark blue background with a snowflake motif on it. The official emblem of the Schnee Merchant Company.

Weiss Schnee had her hair up in a ponytail as she poured over the different account records – business was booming for the Schnee Merchant Company. The summer in Mistral was brutal in comparison to Atlas; the light summer dress was beginning to cling to her like a second skin from all the sweat. One side of the office had floor to ceiling arches with the door open to the Villa's courtyard. Weiss enjoyed the view of the courtyard that had a beautiful garden and a few trees decorating the area. She spotted the wooded box that contained the training equipment that was available for the few gladiators they had purchased.

She supposed she'd have to ask Klein or the house slave to put it away since it will be awhile before they're used again.

The Schnee sat back in her chair for a quick mental break; she closed her eyes as she wiped her brow. The last time she was this sweaty was when…

Silver eyes that stared her down like a predator looking at its prey flashed into her eyes. She could almost feel the touch of the gladiator's hands running down her body, the taught muscles at Weiss' fingertips, and Ruby's lips on hers.

"Oh Oum." Weiss sighed as she knocked back the rest of the water in her cup, "I need to get my head out of the clouds."

"Master Schnee, you have a visitor. It's Lady Adel and Lady Scarlatina," The house slave mentioned as she motioned to the parlor.

Weiss looked up at her house slave. She took pity on her as soon as she saw her in the slave market about 3 months ago. The poor Faunus was withdrawn and robotic, Weiss wasn't sure what kind of horrors she had gone through or seen.

Blake Belladonna was covered in bruises and beaten bloodied to the point where she was being sold below the regular market value for slaves. From what Weiss learned, she was a wandering thief that had gotten caught.

Faunus resorting to thieving wasn't unheard of – their kind had a harder time trying to thrive outside of their tropical island of Menagerie, in fact their kind was heavily discriminated against all together. She had heard rumors that the Kingdom of Vale was a bit kinder to the Faunus race, however Weiss didn't know for sure as she had never visited Vale.

There was some bad blood between Atlas and Vale after the territory war, but this was before Weiss' time. As far as the company goes, Jacques had no intentions of starting a branch company in that kingdom.

"Blake, thank you." Weiss was courteous, "Please bring out some water and wine." The slave was about to step off and fulfill the request, "And feel free to join us, Coco and Velvet have taken a liking to you." A small smile.

Blake nodded, "Yes, Master Schnee" She was curt and to the point as she stalked off.

Weiss sighed; she would have to patient with this one.

Blake Belladonna was dressed in a fine light summer dress; her long midnight hair flowed through the light summer breeze. Golden like specs looked to the right at the gorgeous weather outside, despite the heat she could easily see her self curling up beneath the shade of the trees and reading a good novel.

If she were still a free woman.

Blake wanted something more in life, something like the adventures she had read in her novels, something like the stories she had heard of the other kingdoms while growing up on Menagerie. She would often times spend countless hours dockside hearing stories and tales from the shipmasters that sailed the seas. They would spin tales about grandiose tropical jungles and wide deserts of Vacuo, the majestic prides of lions that would stalk the sands and trees. The sweeping forests of Vale and their penchant of sleepy small towns that surrounded the great Kingdom, stories of the great King Ozpin and how he was a war hero during the territory wars. The cold and frozen tundra of Atlas, how they have built a shining and innovated kingdom out of the ice and snow.

And then there was the Kingdom of Mistral, the city of heroes and great pleasures of success. More often than not the shipmasters and sailors would liken Mistral as one of their favorite places, they would tell of its fun and opportunity that was available to anyone with the coin available. But most of all, it was the stories of the gladiators – more often than not it would be slaves fighting for redemption once more. Or more notably it would be brave volunteers who would dare to seek eternal glory that waited for them in Mistral's Great Stone Coliseum.

The Faunus sighed as she looked back out at the alluring call of the shade of the tree; it was the stories of heroes and great glory that enticed her the most. Mistral had sounded the most adventurous of them all.

She didn't expect any of the danger… or discrimination that lay boiling underneath the gilded city.

A hand ran across the collar around her neck absent mindedly, it was a reminder of what she had lost and now craved, 'Perhaps it would have been best if I had stayed in Menagerie.' The thought crossed Blake's mind as she saw the two guests in view. She shook herself of the thought immediately.

'I have things that still need to be done. I can't leave, not now.'

With a well-trained smile she greeted Lady Adel and Lady Scarlatina to come further into the Schnee Villa.

* * *

The great Death Stalker nimbly darted left, dodging the deadly arc of the weapon in front of it. The great golden stinger above him lashed out at the assailant in an attempt to puncture a whole in the man's chest.

The Hunter was much too quick for that as he did an impressive flip backwards to avoid the stinger. A charming smile could be seen on the man's face; with dexterous hands he spun his great scythe around in an attempt to decapitate the stinger. His armor favored speed and mobility as he only wore some leather vambraces and a dark gray padded armor coat with a high collar, the top two buttons were let loose. The black loose shirt underneath was covered in sweat as his black breeches were tucked into his black leather boots. His red eyes darted about as it kept its gaze trained on the tail.

His deep red cloak flourished with his movements as he attempted to strike out at the Death Stalker.

Sensing the danger, the tail was snapped back to avoid the weapon once more. What it didn't expect was a second Hunter to be there.

Qrow Branwen smirked to himself as he watched his niece come literally flying out of a nearby jungle tree with her great sword over head. The long brown coat had a high collar around her neck, the signature feature was that she wore it with short sleeves, underneath the coat the Huntress wore some light armor plates and a loose orange shirt that was often seen as she kept her coat only buttoned half way. She wore black breeches like her uncle that were tucked into brown leather boots that went all the way up to her calf. She swung the sword down on the Death Stalker's stinger.

If one could call the 5 foot sharpened hunk of metal a sword.

The sword easily cut through scale like armor of the Death Stalker's tail, the stinger easily getting sliced off. Before the Grimm could even retaliate from the unexpected attack, Yang Xiao Long had already maneuvered the sword point mid air; the blade was poised for the creature's head as she came falling back to earth.

Qrow whistled low as he set the scythe on his shoulder, the creature went limp as black dust could be seen starting to drift off into the wind. His niece kept a firm grip on the great sword and easily lifted it off the ground. On her back, she had a custom-made leather strap holder for the thing, and not many people (even men alike) had the strength to wield the sword – let alone carry it around.

It should also be noted that she definitely no slouch without the weapon either, on both hands she wore specialized gauntlets that had a unique feature. If you were to find out about this unique feature, then it was likely it would be the last new thing you learned in life.

"I'm pretty sure you get the inhuman strength from your Father." Qrow commented as he surveyed the area, "I think that was the last one."

"You sure? I was getting the hang of actually taking out these little guys." A cheeky grin was sported on her face. Yang flipped her long blond mane off of her shoulder as she stretched out a bit, "But I wouldn't mind for some rest."

"You and me both, a bath at the Inn in town would be fantastic." Qrow yawned as he started to head towards the direction towards town, "We'll let the town mayor know that we cleaned up their Grimm problem, then we'll head into Vacuo and collect our award there." It was common practice for Huntsmen; they carried a license that was good for international travel between the four kingdoms. There would be a Huntsmen Base at every kingdom – a huntsmen simply needed to walk in, see what bounties or job offers were available, lay claim to it, and then go out and do it. Whoever requested the job would also give the proper paperwork that allowed the travelling Huntsmen to collect the bounties once they went back into the kingdom.

Huntsmen were known to have no formal allegiance to any of the kingdoms, their duty and service was for Remnant itself. Their job was some times thankless, mostly by the government officials just because Huntsmen had no formal allegiance to kingdoms and therefore could not be called into war (something Yang and Qrow both liked), but most times the citizens themselves were more than happy to show their gratitude to the huntsmen whenever they came into town.

Yang's eyes squinted as they came to the edge of the jungle, they had to cross some portion of the desert to get back to Vacuo, but it wasn't as bad as before. "Can we wait till it's closer to sunset to walk back? I'm not trying to turn into pork roast."

The Vacuo heat reminded her of some unpleasant childhood memories, the first time she experienced it she had almost went into a panic attack – it was hot and heavy and hard to breathe… and she could have sworn she felt flames lick at her arms and legs.

It was a good thing her uncle was there to calm her down during her first visit to Vacuo all those years ago.

Qrow looked out at the hot sands and thought for a moment, "Nah, it's not that bad if we haul ass – it'll suck, but the sooner we get back, the sooner we can get that bath and a good meal."

"You're just thirsty for something to drink." Yang sighed as she took a sip of water from her canteen.

Both the hunters grabbed a cloak from their pack to wear in order to prevent over exposure to the sun while out in the desert.

"Quit you're yapping, it's only a 20 minute hike back into town, it'll be over before you know it, kid."

"If you call me kid one more time, I might be inclined to start calling you _grandpa_ Qrow." Yang quipped back as they began their hike.

"Shut it."

* * *

A/N:

And there we have it as promised, chapter 5 by the end of the month. If you guys couldn't tell from Yang's sword, I'm a fan of Berserker (GRRRRIIIIIFFFFIIIITH!)

Usually I like to go through and give shout outs and responses to some of the reviews I received, but I'm running on a time crunch here. For those that are wondering about the timeline for the next release - I can't give any solid words on that. I'll be deployed downrange in the desert for some time. I'll still be writing in my off time for Gladiator, but it's uncertain what that time frame is looking like when it comes to posting chapters.

RedRenegade77 (I lied, quick shoutout) I see your predictions and I'll keep them in mind, I won't confirm nor deny anything until it happens :D

So bottom line, if you see this story hasn't been updated in quite some time, don't be alarmed as this story has not been dropped. I know it kind of sucks and I can tell you that this is not an ideal stopping place for me, especially after introducing Blake and Yang into the mix.

If anything, I'll spoil you all with some large releases when I get back stateside.

As usual, thank you all for the reviews and for reading the story. I hope you guys continue to enjoy Gladiator because I'm having a blast writing this up.

Cheers,

DevilRed


	6. Good Business

Wicked eyes greedily traced the outline of her best slave. She loved the way the sweat and blood rolled down his sculpted abs; her hands traced the faint sword wound that marked her gladiator's chest. His chest panted heavily in both pleasure and pain.

However, Cinder knew it to be mostly pleasure as she skillfully grinded her hips into Mercury Black's strong member.

"You performed well little Mercury." Cinder cooed softly as she continued her steady rhythm, she knew it absolutely tortured her slave as his body was begging for sweet release.

"Yes…. Mistress…" The silver haired gladiator grunted, he was given a simple command earlier, but it was taking everything in him to not go against it.

"Oh? Is this a little too much for you to handle, Mercury?" The bed's third occupant rolled over on her side, Emerald Sustrai smirked, and she knew the slave was closing in on his limits.

His eyes rolled skyward as he inhaled sharply, Cinder simply felt so _fucking good_. "For my Mistress…. I will endure." He knew that his reward would be ten fold better.

"Even though you lost against that Hori kid." Emerald jested once more.

Mercury grunted through clench teeth as he just about lost concentration.

"Now, now Emerald. We all knew that it was a loss to begin with, Roman's gladiators are just that good." Cinder slowed her pace down; she bit her bottom lip as it was starting to feel good for her too.

"You did well too," She motioned for her tanned bodyguard to come closer, Emerald complied as she leaned her lips closer, awaiting her mistress to take them in her.

Cinder planted a sensual kiss, "I have yet to _thoroughly_ thank you for grabbing those items for me from the Office of Official Records."

Emerald smirked into the kiss, "It helps that your Mother is a Councilman."

"M-Mistress…. Please." Mercury begged, his knuckles were white as he clenched the sheets.

"Hmmm…." Cinder did a slow roll of her hips, the slave beneath whimpered, she could feel his pulse thumping loudly inside her as he physically begged for the sweet release.

"You may."

 **Two Days prior:**

The Reaper sat up as the morning rays began to fill her small room. She could hear the others waking up as well as Nadir often yawned loudly in the morning. Nimbly, she stood up from the bedding and stretched her arms over head.

She smiled to herself as she had a feeling that the day was going to be good. A few days prior Nadir and Bolin were successful in their pair match for the 'Taming of the Beast' event. Usually when they were successful their Master was often in a good mood for a while due to all the gold lien he would make off of their win in the arena.

Silver eyes glanced at the row of wooden carvings she had lined up on the stone edge of the wall. The different Grimm creatures she had encountered were prevalent, but here there were a few trinkets of home. One such trinket was Vale's symbol of two crossed axes.

Ruby smiled as she picked up the emblem, she missed her actual coin that was given to her when she finished her training to enter the ranks of Vale's army. She closed her eyes as she recounted what her life was like before she made it to Mistral.

Once Ruby turned 16 she had left the orphanage in the slums of Vale and enlisted in the army. There she learned to capitalize on her uncanny natural ability in swordplay and her swiftness. She would be assigned to a rather small company of 80 troops that was in charge of mostly scouting missions.

'127th Brigade, 3rd Battalion… Seeker Company' Ruby smiled to herself at the thought of her old unit and all the friends she had made there.

Ruby quickly turned out to be a gifted scout as she more often found ways to get out of conflict with the enemy, rather than into it. She was strong with her sword so that if she were to be engaged by man, beast, or Grimm - she would turn out winner. Her name, Ruby Rose, would become well known within the small company of lesser-known soldiers. She was dependable and had a good battle sense, as most people who went on scouting missions with her would make it back in one piece.

Things were relatively peaceful for Ruby, her company would often deploy to new islands and other small land masses to scout and map the area out so that the bigger companies and brigades could move in and set up outposts and some times even massive military bases. All they would mostly encounter were rogue and dangerous bands, aggressive beasts, and of course the dreaded Grimm that roamed all of Remnant. Many believed the Grimm to be creatures of dark souls that never found peace after death.

At least that's how the story goes.

In between these scouting missions and small deployments did Ruby spend time in Vale. The scout had bought a small cottage that wasn't too far from where two of her fellow scouts, Ren and Nora, resided. They lived right at the edge of the city of Vale, far enough away from the hustle and bustle of the crowd, yet just out of reach of the treacherous beasts and Grimm which roamed the Sanus continent. It wasn't anything special, but it was still a life and home that Ruby had built.

But these seemingly simple days didn't last long. The year of Ruby's 19th birthday is when a territory war had broken out between Vale and Mistral. The eastern kingdom wished to claim the northern island of Vytal as their territory. King Ozpin of Vale did not take kindly to this land grab.

Negotiations turned to debate, debate turned into a heated compromise, compromise turned into a disagreement, and soon conflict was born from it all.

Ruby had heard rumors that the Mistrali military detachment on Vytal had struck first, she had also heard rumors that it was the Valesian guard that had provoked the event and that the Mistrali soldiers were merely trying to defend themselves.

The young scout didn't give a damn, because either way it turned into a war. And with the war came more coin for those in the army to fight the war.

Vale had pushed back Mistral from the northern island of Vytal. Ruby's scouting company had been forward deployed across the water and into the enemy's country. Their mission was simple; to scout the land, pinpoint the enemy's location, and relay that information back to the main body of 1200 troops that had set up base on Mistral's western coast.

Three months after Ruby had been sent to Mistral's continent of Anima, is when she was captured. Ruby would never forget the recon mission; she had sent back her partners Ren and Nora because the orange haired girl had broke her ankle while scaling the cliffs of the Mistrali shore. Ren had promised to return quickly after bringing Nora back down to the main camp for medical treatment. The lone scout had chose to press on and keep scaling the mountain to see if she could spot any Mistrali positions from the peak.

She was successful in finding the Mistrali positions, but she didn't expect for there to be an outpost already situated on the top of that mountain.

Ruby was swiftly detained and declared a prisoner of war as her Valesian uniform and emblem quickly gave her away. Ruby would have just been kept in that Outpost's own prison with some possibility of escape if the Outpost was over ran by the Valesian army, but she managed to fuck those chances away by deciding to be a team player for her comrades.

The lone scout had set off a red Dust flare that rocketed high into the sky, once it exploded it had given away the position of the enemy outpost and tipped off the Valesian main camp that the enemy was much closer than anticipated.

The commander of the outpost was infuriated; Ruby was immediately carted off to the main Mistral kingdom and sold off as a slave. Albeit, Mistral did leave her with the privilege of retaining her Valesian identification papers and prisoner of war status – which was safely kept in the Office of Official Records.

"You're gonna be a free man soon Bolin!" Sun tackled the man to the ground. The two began rolling around in the morning as the rest of the gladiator slaves wandered to the outdoor area where their breakfast was to be served. A slave with 5 gladiator matches under his belt smiled at the two rolling around. In the Arena, Bolin and Sun were legends – untouchables almost as they have established themselves as fine gladiators. But now the two were simply horsing around like children in the early morning.

The lesser-known gladiator huffed to himself as he went to get his meal for the morning.

"Knock it off before you actually hurt him Sun." Ruby called out as she exited their quarter's area. Nadir was right behind her as they walked up to where the two were wrestling.

"Alright fine, you're off the hook for now." Sun let go of Bolin who stayed on the floor lying out on his back.

"Well… I'm not the only one who's going to be free soon." He pushed back his dark locks that got in his face during the quick romp, "Ruby, you should be getting word soon as well."

The silver-eyed gladiator smiled in glee, "Yeah, any day now." The smallest of the four thought of her cottage back home, she hoped that it was still there and she could only imagine that someone had more than likely ransacked the home as she hadn't been there in nearly two years.

Or worse, someone else lived there now instead.

Ruby shrugged as she figured she would cross that bridge when she got there.

"But for now, we have to focus on you and your match in two days." She said with such determination, "Today will be the last day of serious training, you need to rest tomorrow."

"I'd say he's in pretty good form, Rubes." Nadir shrugged as he led the way to where the food was being served, "He practically slayed those Ursas by himself." He referred to their pair match in the Coliseum a couple of days before. Bolin and Nadir performed flawlessly as the Taming of the Beast event looked like child's play for the pair.

"I couldn't have done it without you buddy." Bolin smiled cheekily, "You make for good bait."

Nadir's eyes narrowed as he shot a dirty look towards his partner, "I seriously thought for a moment that you were about to leave me high and dry with 3 Ursas for a moment."

Sun and Ruby started laughing at the two's antics as they approached the line. Out of respect for the four, the slaves that were already in line stepped aside and allowed the group to the front. The kitchen slaves served the Core Four each a hearty helping before they went to find a place to sit at one of the benches.

It was just another day on the compound as the morning went on as usual. The prospects went on to do their hellish training to prepare them for their first match in the coliseum as some of the more experienced gladiators helped to train them.

Neo walked about the courtyard to make sure no one was slacking, every now and again she'll stop to patiently observe some of the prospects through their sword movements and make minor corrections to their form.

On the opposite end of the courtyard, Sun and Bolin went at it against each other in a one-on-one sparring match. For the most part, the Monkey King himself had Bolin on the ropes. Despite Sun's laid-back personality, he definitely had a hidden tenacity to him since it was evident in his dual wielding swordplay style. His movements flowed like water and his sword thrusts hit like stone. Bolin could do nothing but to continuously parry the blows as his shield constantly remained up.

Ruby and Nadir observed off to the side as they had been given special instruction to train Bolin for his final match in two days. Silver eyes observed the rare form Sun would use – he was much more aggressive than usual, and it was for good reason. Upon Bolin's sweaty face, a smile could be seen.

Because he was having so much fun with his friends in what would be his final days with them.

Nadir watched as he could see clear as day the feelings that Sun was trying to convey to the older brother figure he sparred against.

Bolin caught the tip of Sun's sword with his shield – he could feel how much Sun cared about him.

The black haired gladiator stopped a swing with his sword arm – there goes the Faunus' never-ending loyalty.

Double sword swings was swiftly dodged with a tuck and roll forward – the brotherhood that was built upon blood, sweat, tears, and loss of fellow gladiators… Bolin felt it echo through out his entire being.

The Monkey King flipped forward and brought his heel down on his kneeling opponent, only for Bolin to bring his shield up in time to block it – _don't forget us, dammit._

Bolin retaliated as he dug the tip of sword in the sand and flicked up a cloud of dirt, Sun was temporarily blinded as he stumbled back. He shoved forward against the Faunus with his shield and then brought the edge of the wooden sword against the Faunus' chest – _I won't ever forget you guys._

Nadir and Ruby smiled as Bolin offered a hand to his defeated friend.

Sun took a deep breathe before facing upwards towards Bolin, with a beaming smile he grabbed a hold of the hand before him. He pulled the dark haired gladiator into a long hug as he dropped both of his weapons.

"Good luck out there, brother." Sun quietly let out in between gasps of breathe, sweat was running down his entire being from the summer heat and hard fight. "You're fighting for all of us here."

"I'll do my best, I promise." Bolin patted the Faunus' back.

Bolin Hori swore to himself that the victory he would bring in two days time would be for Sun, Nadir, and Ruby.

He would never forget his family that he had found in this hellhole.

Roman watched the sparring match from the second floor balcony. He could puke in his mouth from the scene before him that his precious Core Four displayed. He was dressed in clean black trousers and a white shirt as opposed to his regular robes that he wore to social events and the grand Coliseum.

"Junior." Roman called out to his right-hand man and bodyguard, the man dutifully appeared at his side. "Go get your men ready…. And tell Neo to corral those four into the underground chambers."

"The dressing chamber?" Junior referred to the area where Ruby and the others were often brought to in order to be dressed for parties that Roman hosted at his Villa.

"No." Roman's eyes glinted with a secret that he only seemed to know, "The dungeon."

Junior smirked at the command; it had been far too long since they had brought anyone to the dungeon.

* * *

"Ms. Belladonna, if you could be so kind to help me tend to the garden outside once you're done here." Klein found the slave tending to the laundry.

The slave nodded as she had a few more linen to tend to before she was done there. Blake had taken a liking to Klein, he was a kind and patient man… but he did have a bit of a temper. Something Blake was glad to never have been on the receiving end before. And she never intended to put herself in that position.

Blake finished the task at hand and she made way from the laundry area to the courtyard in back. She was familiar with the Schnee Villa at this point as her Master allowed her to wander around the home. Though it was an unspoken rule for Blake to wander into Weiss' personal office.

The Faunus took note of her Master who sat out in the parlor going over a few important looking documents. Blake paid no heed to her as she briskly went out into the courtyard to help tend the yard work.

Weiss didn't miss the subtle exchange from her only house slave. With a sigh, the merchant set down the weekly report in hand and sat back in the soft cushions of her couch.

Was she as bad as Roman? Her own slave seemed to do her best to keep to herself and to keep conversation to a minimum despite Weiss' best attempt to make the Faunus open up a bit more, then again there was the obvious fact that Blake _is her slave._

But slavery had been around Remnant for as long as time itself it seemed. Even the great Four Great Kingdoms were founded on the basis of slave labor. It was slaves that built that grand Palace in the mountains of Mistral. It was slaves that worked the fields of Vale. Slaves mined the precious Dust crystals in the frozen Atlas tundra. And slaves bore the desert heat of Vacuo as they did labor in the 100-degree weather.

Weiss like to think she was more than amicable to her slave's needs – Blake slept in comfort with fine linens and cushions, she was dressed in clothes that were in good repair, and she ate the same food that they did since Klein did all the cooking.

Maybe it was her name… It was no secret that Jacques Schnee was not particularly fond of the Faunus. In fact, her father often sent the Faunus slaves into the mines. Weiss knew that her father's treatment of the Faunus slaves made for good gossip when she wasn't in the room – perhaps Blake had caught wind of this and is trying to keep a distance.

Because the apple never falls far from the tree… right?

The merchant lamented the situation, was the Schnee name really synonymous with such racism? Her father wasn't the only one in the world who viewed the Faunus as something less than human…

But who was she to talk when she herself owned a _Faunus slave._

'I didn't buy Blake because she was a Faunus… she looked like she needed help.' Weiss thought back to that day in the slave market. She couldn't bring herself to look past the slave, who was beaten bloody and was even being undersold. The slaver called her insubordinate and stubborn. Said the Faunus was a thief caught in a noble's manor and subsequently sentenced to slavery when she attempted to resist arrest and wounded some of the noble's guards.

Oddly enough, Weiss thought of Ruby when she first saw Blake, because Blake wore the same empty expression that she would often see on Ruby – the same lonely expression that piqued Weiss' interest in the gladiator in the first place.

And she thought to herself she would try to help Blake get out of there – the same way Ruby tried to help Neptune during Roman's party all that time ago.

'So what do I want to be to Blake? Her master….' Weiss looked outside as she watched those golden eyes carefully tend to the bed of lavender flowers. Blake worked really well with her hands, something Weiss noticed right off the bat when the slave started working around the house. And Klein had mentioned a few times that Blake had a quick wit as well.

Maybe she would try to cross the proverbial line.

Maybe she could try to be Blake's friend.

* * *

Instead of the usual fire crystals, flame torches lit the stones of the underground chambers. The floor of the room was slick with splatters of blood as the guards before them continually beat the two of the three occupants who were chained.

"We didn't do anything!" Bolin cried out once more as he strained against the chains that held him against the wall with his arms spread out wide. He cried out once more as he watched Nadir let out a loud grunt from Junior burying his fist into the slave's gut.

Sun received the blunt end of the club once more to his stomach; his right eye had swollen shut from the sheer amount of times that Junior's henchmen had hit him.

Bolin figured he was being spared such treatment since he was to fight in two days time.

But what made matters worse was that Ruby was separated from the group as soon as they had made way to the underground section of the Villa.

At first they didn't think much of it, often times they were summoned to the underground section of the Villa for various things – most of the time it was to properly bathe if Roman was going to be throwing a party that evening. He always had to show off his best gladiators at these gatherings.

What they didn't expect was to see a group of Junior and his men waiting for them to put them into chains and then be brought into what was the most dreaded part of the underground – Roman Torchwick's personal dungeon.

They all had spent the first few nights here when they were first purchased, the new slaves were never immediately allowed to live with the other slaves until they went through Roman's _indoctrination training_. Which would take place here in the dungeon.

So no slave of Roman ever had fond memories of their first few nights in the Villa.

"That's enough boys." The slimy voice echoed off the stonewalls, a low hum could be heard as the tune carried ever so eerily through the dungeon that Bolin, Sun, and Nadir had been chained to.

The eldest gladiator narrowed his eyes – Roman Torchwick looked absolutely refreshed.

"Bring her in here."

Neo came in, flanked by two guards who dragged what seemed to be a corpse.

"RUBY!" Bolin roared as he noticed the glossed over look – he had only seen it once before and the evidence in front of him was as clear as the summer day. He strained once more against his chains, the iron cuffs at his wrists dug into his flesh. Bolin was more animal than human at this point – his eyes raged with red, his neck strained forward, and his wrists threatened to break as he wanted nothing more than to put his hands around Torchwick's throat and wipe that smug grin off his lips.

"You bastard!" Nadir finally snapped through the haze from being hit in the head one too many times. He caught sight of the smallest gladiator who was simply slumped on the floor in the corner. Junior responded with a right cross to the Wilding's face.

The one good eye Sun had left glanced over to the corner; the usually cheery slave began to weep at the sight in front of him. "You… Oum damn it all." He could hardly bare to look. "I swore…. I'd protect her…." The Faunus' tears began to fall to the floor.

Ruby Rose was naked and lay defeated in the corner.

"Chin up Wukong, it's almost over." Roman walked over to the Faunus and observed the damage, "Did you really have to hit him that hard in the face Junior? He's popular with all the ladies."

"My bad boss." Junior shrugged.

"Get her up." Roman motioned to the slave in the corner.

Junior roughly grabbed Ruby by her wrists and forced her to stand in the middle of the room.

"Stop!" Bolin pleaded once more, "How much more will you put her through?! She didn't do anything!"

"Gag him." The slave master kept his cool, two of the guards grabbed a piece of cloth and proceeded to stuff it into Bolin's mouth, "You're lucky I need you in good fighting form."

Neo smiled at the sight before her; there was something about all of this that always seemed absolutely fun to her.

"Neo, if you will." Roman held out his hand, the slaver complied as she produced the documents into the slave master's hand.

"So! The reason you're all gathered here today is because of this!" He unfurled the documents in his hands and Bolin recognized them.

They were documents proving Ruby's status as a prisoner of war.

"As you know, we are no longer at war with Vale and they have decreed we release the prisoners of war."

The flame torch on the wall caught Roman's eye, with simply wave of his arm, the document in hand caught fire. "Proving if you have the proper documentation of your status as prisoner of war."

Silver eyes watched the papers go up in flames.

It was her ticket to freedom, her proof that she was indeed a prisoner of war.

A proud soldier of Vale's Army.

Ruby looked on at the burning documents: _Ruby Rose, Citizen of Vale, Status is currently Prisoner of War…_

The growing flames were quickly disintegrating the writing. Roman let go of the official documents once the flames began to lick his fingers. The papers began to turn into useless ash.

A light flicked on and Ruby's eyes burned with anger. She lunged out towards her captor. Junior and Neo caught both of her arms and her face made contact with the stone floor. Bolin jerked at his chains as his muffled screams filled the room.

"Why…. Why are you doing this?" Ruby pleaded in a small voice.

"Simple, it's just good business to keep you here Red." Roman crossed his arms.

"I swear I'll tell everyone what you did! You can't keep me here!" Ruby roared, "I'm a Valesian soldier, Oum damn you!"

Roman walked around the pinned down slave, Junior held Ruby by her head while Neo kept both her arms behind her back. Green eyes made way down the exposed backside of the slave, his eyes stopped at the plump flesh that was Ruby's ass.

Gingerly he kneeled down, a rough palm grazed Ruby's thigh.

The slave immediately stopped moving, her eyes shooting wide at the contact "N-No… please…. N-No more." Tears began to form as the repulsive hand molested her.

Sun snarled against his chains.

Junior responded by grabbing the Faunus' tail with both hands… and snapping the tip in half.

"Arrrrggggggghhhhh!" Sun cried out in pain as his tail waned in agony. The Faunus grit his teeth through it all.

"Sun!" Nadir bellowed. Junior grabbed the club from one of the guards and smacked the Wilding across the face. The Wilding's body slumped forward and it was apparent Nadir was no longer conscious as a fine river of red trickled down the side of his head.

"Well Red, here comes the part where I threaten you." Roman chuckled to himself as he stood up to walk back around to where Ruby's head was pinned. His grin grew bigger as he observed the handiwork that his men had done to Sun and Nadir.

He kneeled down in front of the naked slave, "If you so much as try to even breath a word that sounds like 'Vale' I swear I'll do much more than just this to your friends." He motioned to the two bloody slaves that were chained to the wall. "And I can promise you that Bolin's mother and sister will some how find their way in this room." His green eyes narrowed as he looked up at the dark haired gladiator, "The same thing goes for that green hair whore you thought I didn't know about – I believe her name was Reese Chloris, right Bolin?"

Chains could be heard straining against the wall at the mention of a certain childhood friend.

"So remember, mum is the word." Roman laughed as he motioned for Neo and Junior to let go of Ruby.

Immediately the Valesian scout made a move towards Roman, Neo was quick to intercept her as she drew her sword. With a flick of her wrist, a light wound was decorated across Ruby's collarbone. The point of the sword was at her throat and Ruby remained still.

"This will be our little secret Red, so no telling." Roman cackled as he exited the room.

Ruby remained in the room with her three friends as the guards, Neo, and Junior filed out of the room.

The heavy creak of the iron gate could be heard and the four slaves were locked in together in the dungeon.

"He's a fucking savage." Octavia murmured as three more slaves followed her into the dungeon. She had grabbed Neptune, who was the closest one to her at the time she was notified of what happened, as well as Amelia and Helen as the three were together doing chores around the Villa.

Junior simply approached her after dinner with a key in hand, he told her to grab the Core Four from the dungeon and they might need some medical care.

Octavia's eyes widened at the mention of the dungeon – no slave of Roman had fond memories of there.

Helen put a hand to her mouth at the gory sight.

"Holy shit…" Neptune went wide eye.

"Hurry up and open the gate." Bolin's raw voice could be heard, "Sun and Nadir need treatment." His voice was hoarse from all the yelling he had done.

Neptune looked at the two in question, his eyes cringed at the disfigured shape of Sun's tail that was simply limp and the mop of blond hair was matted in sweat and blood.

"Nadir… first… he hasn't woken up." Sun managed out despite the cuts he had inside his mouth.

"I… We need the other slaves here to help carry them." Amelia stated.

"Go get the other gladiators down here and tell them to bring the cot." Neptune instructed, the house slave nodded, she was quick to leave the area.

"What happened to his tail?" Helen questioned, she had a bit of medical knowledge under her belt and was more than willing to help out.

"Junior snapped it." Bolin answered, Octavia undid his shackles first.

"Help us get Nadir down." She asked. Neptune was already standing in front of the Wilding to help support his dead weight.

The chains were undone and Nadir was gently laid down on the floor as they turned their attention to the Faunus.

Sun whimpered as he landed on the floor, pain shot out like lightening up his spine as his tail remained limp. He refused to hold still as he attempted to make a move towards the far corner of the dungeon.

"Take it easy man." Neptune tried to stop the Faunus, but Sun refused.

Octavia bit the inside of her cheek at whom it was Sun was trying to make it to.

Ruby was curled up in the corner, still naked.

"What happened to-" Neptune started.

"Roman." Sun growled as he painstakingly made his way next to Ruby.

A small cry could be heard as Sun tried to place a hand in between her shoulders, "Ruby… it's me." He tried again, "It's Sun."

Bolin walked over to the pair and looked the girl over; quickly he removed his tunic and crouched down near Ruby. "Hey… it's Bolin." His voice was calm and gentle, the two smiled as they notice Ruby finally respond and turn over to look at the two. "You look cold, wear my shirt, please." Bolin gently urged.

Ruby nodded as she sat up enough to pull the over sized cloth over her head. Her eyes were bloodshot and puffy, but no one said a word about it. Sun simply motioned towards Ruby, "May I?" He asked as he offered to put a reassuring arm around her.

Ruby looked Sun over, a knot of guilt burned in the pit of her stomach as she looked over her friend's current state. She nodded her head and allowed Sun to slip his arm around her.

She felt safe in her friend's embrace, as Bolin remained seated next to the two.

They waited until the others arrived to help carry Nadir out to the infirmary with the three in tow.

* * *

"That all you got?" The silver haired Fall champion danced circles around Bolin. The Arena roared in applause after the last exchange between the two gladiators. Mercury donned light plate armor that easily bounced off Bolin's strikes at him. For the time being, it really seemed as if Bolin would lose this one.

It seemed hardly fair, but Bolin was used to these types of odds.

What also didn't help was the thing that had happened two days prior… Sun and Nadir were still asleep in the infirmary when he left with Torchwick and Neo that morning.

Bolin had spent a better part of the night with Ruby, he simply stayed with her before she softly coaxed him to get some rest for his big match. He complied, but he slept on the floor of her room – he refused to leave her alone.

What Roman did to her made him want to snap the man in half with his bare hands… but Bolin knew that he was in no position to do such things. Not when the slave master had made those threats on his family and childhood friend.

He always saw her when she came to watch his matches, this time was no different. His brown eyes caught sight of her emerald green hair, she sat together with his mother and sister towards the front of the stands.

He had no time to even smile at Reese Chloris as Mercury came charging in at him.

Bolin raised his sword to block the strike, swiftly he brought up the edge of his shield and jammed the rim into an opening of the Fall champion's armor, right below his solar plexus. Before Mercury could register what was going on, Bolin thrust his entire weight behind the wedged in shield.

A gasp could be heard coming from Mercury as he lost his breath, he began choking harder once he fell flat on his back on to the sands of the Arena. The dark haired gladiator wasted no time – he let go of his shield and raised his sword above his head. He brought the blade down on Mercury's armor and a clean slice could be seen.

A small trickle of blood began flowing out.

Mercury planted a kick into Bolin's side, but the new wound on his chest stung him. He prayed to Oum that the cut wasn't deep. He saw Bolin try to pick up his shield from the ground, but Mercury wouldn't let him as he abruptly brought his sword down on where he thought Bolin's arm was going.

He miscalculated how fast the Torchwick gladiator could move.

The two fell into a heap as Bolin tackled Mercury back on to the ground. A solid jab landed on the Fall champion's chin and a left hook caught him across the cheek. While Mercury was dazed, Bolin got back up and kicked his opponent's sword away from him.

The Coliseum was in an uproar.

Here was the Fall Champion in his best armor, beaten black and blue as he lay panting on his back.

Bolin raised his sword hand in the air, the blade poised for the final strike on his opponent.

But the gladiator knew that he had to wait for his Master's judgment of Mercury.

Roman Torchwick in his fine garb of white and red stood, his wine cup still in hand. With his free hand he brought a finger to his lips, and like a well tamed dog, the Arena complied.

"A fine battle!" Roman proclaimed, a wave of cheers erupted and then quieted back down to wait for the famous gladiator owner to continue, "Only the finest send off for Bolin Hori after completing his road to redemption. With this, you are a free man." Roman smiled sickly as his green eyes bore into Bolin's brown ones. The gladiator fought the urge to snarl at the conniving slave master.

"Today is a day to celebrate, today is a day to rejoice – and it is because of this I shall judge you!" Roman looked over at Mercury who still lay on the ground, utterly terrified of the sword that was being held above him. The sword that could end his very life if he did on wrong move.

"You! Mercury Black, Champion of Cinder Fall – who is also my good friend." Roman did an exaggerated gesture to the woman in question that sat in a lavish chair next to his own. "I shall judge you benevolently on this day of celebration!"

His hand was held out in front of him, the same hand that had sentenced many men alike to their doom. Instead of it's usual judgment, instead his thumb was pointed skyward.

"You shall live to fight another day!" His voice echoed off of the entire Coliseum.

With a deep breathe, Bolin lowered his sword and looked once more to the slave master who stood in the marble stands above him. Roman nodded at him, as if commanding him to do what he usually does after a victory.

For one last time, Bolin held his sword towards the crowd as he flourished it a few times.

His name echoed like thunder off the walls and buildings. The whole kingdom of Mistral seemed to be jammed pack into the Coliseum to witness with their own eyes the legendary gladiators himself.

Bolin Hori

After a while, the newly freed gladiator made his way out of the sands and inside the Coliseum itself. Instead of exiting through the guarded slave gate, he was instead guided by Neo elsewhere – it was the gate that the general audience would use to freely enter and exit the Coliseum.

He could hear his name in conversations as he strode down the stone hallway; the attendee's lined the walls and made way for the free man. A few bystanders patted his shoulder and complimented his fighting skills.

Bolin simply nodded as he was focused on making it out of the blasted stone prison.

Neo stopped right at the entrance and slipped a rolled up document into Bolin's hand, with a wave of her hand she motioned for him to go.

Before stepping out into the open, Bolin looked down at the parchment – it was papers that identified him as a free man.

Turning at her heel, Neo left and disappeared into the throngs of people that filled the stone hallway. Bolin waited until he could no longer pick out the pink and brown locks of the slaver.

With a careful step, he exited the Coliseum.

But despite the jovial occasion that the day was, Bolin couldn't help but feel empty inside.

His heart called out to his friends that were still captive under that monster.

The gladiator swore that he would find a way to free them and get those he cared about away from the city.

Away from Mistral.

Away from Roman Torchwick.

* * *

The Torchwick Villa was once again bursting with cheer and merriment as the finest Mistrali elite and nobles mingled about. The wine was flowing a plenty and the food itself should be considered a delicacy for once again Roman's cooking staff had out done themselves.

And one could not forget the beautiful slaves that Master Torchwick owned, their famed _techniques_ and seduction are a famous topic that is often discussed behind closed doors or under excited hushed tones. Ruby watched wordlessly as one of the guests at the party paid their dues in order to have some _quality time_ with one of the house slaves. She knew her part well as her body flowed like fine silk, her hand gingerly took that of the greasy red-faced pig and led him to one of the secluded areas of the home.

Ruby inwardly recoiled at the thought.

However, being the famed Reaper she kept a stoic face as she stood in her ornate armor and red cloak – she stood alone tonight as Sun and Nadir were still recovering from their wounds.

"So tell us more about your famed Reaper, surely she too has a road to redemption that she is following like Bolin?" A man called out to the slave Master himself.

"The Reaper, you ask?" Roman's green eyes flashed dangerously at Ruby, his gaze reminded her of a certain _promise_ that he intended to keep should she be insubordinate.

His fine white and red robes flowed around him as he thoughtfully drank from his cup of wine. The attention of the entire room was on him as he sauntered over to where his now absolute best gladiator stood on display. Cinder Fall watched with delight as she looked on – she wondered what tale her dear friend was about to spin.

"The Reaper! When I first met her she was like a Wilding, an animal whose only instinct was to survive."

 _ **I was a prisoner of war.**_

"She was chained up more so than any other slaves, separated even as even the fine gentlemen of the slave market had great difficulty trying to tame such a beast." Roman paused as he gave a long and thoughtful look into Ruby's silver eyes; he smirked as he continued on with his story. "I asked the slave holders what her crime was – murder! She killed one of our countrymen out in the wilds!"

 _ **I was captured after my scouting mission went bad.**_

"You see… The Reaper is not like any other slave I've ever possessed. She has a natural instinct to simply kill. For she grew up a rogue out in the wilds, she survived life beyond these safe walls we live in, she grew up hunting Grimm for sport, animals for food, and then she made the grave mistake of murdering some of our finest men."

 _ **I was an orphan and a proud scout for the Kingdom of Vale. I learned how to kill Grimm during my training with the Army and my experience comes from my many scouting missions where I often went alone and unafraid to deter enemy detection.**_

"And now the Reaper is simply here under my tutelage and my dear Neo's training." Once more he made a grand gesture to Ruby who stood above them all on the podium, displayed before the crowd like a fine vase for all to simply admire, "Will fight to the death in the Coliseum as she carries out her punishment of slavery until her dying breathe for the murder of our countrymen."

 _ **And I am stuck here under threat of certain death on my friends.**_

Ruby clenched her jaw as she forced herself to maintain a blank face, the party goers about her cheered and applauded Roman's fine speech.

And like the slow roll of thunder she could hear her namesake echo off the walls of the Villa.

Reaper.

Reaper.

Reaper!

Reaper! Reaper! Reaper!

She closed her eyes as the crowd continued to roar in excitement, she clutched the handle of the ornate sword at her hip and once more flourished the blade before the crowd.

Her eyes were dull as she looked about the horde.

A lot had changed in the past two days.

Ruby put her sword back in the sheath as the partygoer's cheers died down.

"Excellent showmanship as always, Red." Roman complimented as he motioned for her to get down from the podium, "Anyways, you've been requested tonight."

Weiss Schnee stood in the corner together with Coco Adel, Velvet Scarlatina, and Pyrrha Nikos. Roman himself personally invited them while they all watched Bolin Hori's final match in the Coliseum. She was mildly impressed with Roman's speech about Ruby's life before slavery, Weiss never would have guessed Ruby to have lived such a hard life before.

Not that life seemed much better for her now.

The merchant took note that Ruby seemed less… lively. Usually the gladiator would wear a much more stoic face, her steel eyes would be constantly scanning the room during these parties. And Weiss was expecting that gladiator to at least find her in the crowd, the merchant had not forgotten their night together… and a part of her was hoping that Ruby would have thought the same too.

'Wishful thinking, I suppose.' Weiss sighed as she sipped her wine, she watched as the gladiator followed her master through the crowd and to the rooms upstairs.

'Definitely wishful thinking.' Weiss Schnee knew what it usually meant for a slave to go upstairs during these parties.

"Is something wrong, Weiss?" Velvet questioned as she noticed the cross look that had developed on Weiss' face.

"It's nothing." She put up a quick smile to the design partner of the rather famous fashionista that is Coco Adel.

Pyrrha was observant of her friend; she caught sight of the Reaper heading to the upstairs portion of the Villa. She too knew what that meant, and she could take a good guess as to why Weiss seemed so solemn.

Ruby inwardly cringed, but kept a straight face. She took a silent deep breath as she followed the slave master into the upstairs portion of the Villa. In a dimly lit room was a familiar face that Ruby knew all too well.

"I'm sure you remember Cinder Fall." Roman smiled as he caught eyes with the seductress herself.

"I sure remember you, Red." Cinder sauntered over to the gladiator like a lion stalking a sheep, with sharp eyes she smiled at the blank look on Ruby's face. "You look absolutely delectable." She smiled to herself, she really did prefer the Reaper to look as she did now.

Miserable and utterly defeated.

"Is there anything else I could get you, Cinder?" Roman grinned at his friend, "After all, the Torchwick name is forever grateful for your services."

"Oh Roman, I only ask for a bit of privacy so that I can _play_ with my _toy_ tonight." She licked her lips in anticipation.

Ruby remained stoned face as she went through a mantra in her head to keep her from strangling her master. It wasn't just her life that was on the line, she constantly kept thoughts of Sun, Nadir, and even Bolin's well-being should she piss off anyone tonight.

Ruby had to stay strong.

"Of course, play nice now, Red." Roman nodded to the two as he shut the door behind him.

"Now then…. What shall we do tonight, my dear Reaper?" Cinder sat back on the bed, the loose red robes she wore easily rode up her thighs as they revealed the long creamy white legs of hers.

"What ever you please, Master Fall." Ruby's response was automatic.

"Such a good answer." With her long index finger she motioned for Ruby to come closer.

The gladiator complied and removed her sword belt and cape as she set the two items down on the floor.

She steadied her thoughts as she tried to steer clear of… that time with… that monster…. In the dungeon. Instead she tried to think of something else, something more pleasant.

More safe.

More caring.

More passionate.

All Ruby could think of the whole night was white hair and lonely eyes that shone like diamonds. She hoped to Oum that she could experience another blissful night like that – because it was something she wanted to feel again in order to wash away the bitter memories that decorated her very being.

* * *

A/N:

Pretty heavy stuff going on this chapter, I hope you guys stick around to see what will happen to Roman at the end of all of this haha.

I've been writing, but not as much as I would like to - not too much free time out here. I really do appreciate the awesome messages and reviews everyone has been leaving me, it definitely gives me motivation to keep writing despite how long my day has been.

I ended up splitting this chapter in half with everything that I wanted to go on for the plot, so bear with me if it seemed a little short this time around.

As always, I sincerely hope you guys enjoyed the chapter and maybe I'll see you again in the next one.

Cheers,

DevilRed


	7. Ashes in the Wind

I hear them chanting.

I can feel the cool breeze that is signaling the dusk of Mistral's summer and the dawn of it's beautiful autumn months.

The sheer volume beats within my chest, I can barely hear my own heart in this lonesome cell. From the side I see the shadows of the guards that are coming my way, I know that they've been sent to unleash me into the Arena. I flex my hands and look off to the side where my leather armor, shield, and sword are located.

With ease, I pull the armor over me and strap the familiar weight to my right side. As the guards begin fumbling for the key to the cell's gate, I unsheathe the gladius and test it's power.

I remember the first time I held a sword, unlike my _gracefulness_ in my youth (I used to trip over my own two feet as a child), when I held the sword for a first time – it was like breathing. Mystified by the cold beauty, I remember looking at my own reflection when I drew a sword for the first time. Such hope, such joy, such unknowing of the world and the dark terrors that lay beneath. I was much younger, a child at the time, and I remember smiling a whole lot more.

Now the image I see in this worn gladius is murky at best, but my eyes no longer have that spark of youth they once held. I am no longer a child.

The reflection looking back at me is dark and lifeless.

I am a Gladiator.

"Step forward, Reaper. It's time." The guards leave the gate open and disappear back to their spot in the stands; they know that I know the way. I'm not like some of the other slaves that are brought here for the first time and attempt to flee for their lives when the gate opens. I'm not like the other slaves who tremble in fear. I'm not like the other slaves who simply die here in the sands.

I live.

Or rather, I survive.

I like the walk up to the sands; I'm alone in my thoughts.

Deeply I breathe in the Mistrali air, sometimes it smells sweet from the flowers in the spring, musky in the summer, but in the autumn it is my favorite smell. It is clear, it is calming to me, and I can catch bits and pieces of the autumn air as I inhale once more.

I feel their voices wash over me, the light at the end of the tunnel burns brightly and the voices beckon me forward.

Reaper… Reaper… Reaper…

" _Ruby."_

The sweet voice cuts through my thoughts, it's enough to make me halt in my tracks. For Oum's sake… I crave that voice. I crave _her._ The one person who has made me feel like a real human being, feel what I think it means to be truly cared for. My jaw clenches, it's been nearly two weeks since Roman… since Roman robbed me for the final time. I push the horrid memory away; I reach back to that sweet summer day with her.

With Weiss Schnee.

I breathe deep for a final time and open my eyes, it's time to put on a show. The Arena erupts impossibly louder than before as I step foot out on the warm sands. I draw my sword and wave it towards the audience, my namesake growing until they're all chanting it as one. I make my way to the center of the Arena and face the marble stands that holds the Mistrali nobles and elite alike.

I see her, those beautiful diamond blue eyes. She's sitting next to Lady Nikos and Commander Arc. I curse lightly in my head, if only I was famous like the Shield of Vale… I wouldn't be subjected to this cruel fate.

My stomach churns and I tighten my grip on my sword. I resist the strong urge to toss my shield like a discus at the monster before me. His evil green eyes and that putrid orange hair, I hate that smug grin on his face.

But I keep a straight face, I'm in no position to retaliate against him. Not yet… There's too much at stake with the others, I refuse to put them in that type of position ever again. I'm not Roman, I will not sacrifice others for my own benefit.

My opponent enters from the opposite side of the Arena, I heard words that this gladiator had temporarily taken on the mantle of _Champion of the Arena_ since I took my break and Bolin was freed. Torchwick mentioned that this man was nicknamed Adonis – and for good reason. Blond hair, blue eyes, a solid tan, and a chest that rivaled Sun's own physique.

I listen to the whores in the stand as they scream his name.

Torchwick also mentioned that he came home from the war and that ever since he has been craving more battles. He is the son of a noble and had taken to volunteering in the Arena for the glory.

The money.

And the women, women love a good gladiator.

I look into the stands and see her staring at him. Is that what you like? Her gaze automatically snaps back to me and she looks down, a bright red blush on her cheeks as she realizes I've caught her staring. I resist the urge to send a knowing smile since we're in such a public venue and I don't want Torchwick to know that I favor her.

Another person in the marble stands catches my attention, Lady Cinder Fall. She smirks my way and sends a wink – for some reason she's always been obsessed with me. I think it started when my own fame as the Reaper began to spread.

But all I am to her is a toy.

Roman and the father of my opponent introduce us.

"I present to you my son, Theo Batiatus! Hero of the Vytal Conflict! To which some of you know as the Adonis of the Arena!" The noble man gestured grandly to my opponent, Adonis smiled brightly at his father – he clearly loves him. My jaw clenches, perhaps I should spare his life today – surely Torchwick would spare the son of a fellow noble to keep appearances. If memory serves well, House of Batiatus has some political influence over the city.

The crowds cheer as is customary for any hometown war hero.

Roman smiles to noble next to him as he gestures towards me, "I present to all of you here the pride and joy of House of Torchwick – the greatest name in the history of Mistral to produce the finest and most ferocious gladiators." Of course, need to keep the trademark going, "The Reaper!"

My name is chanted, much louder I might add, through out the Arena. I see the Adonis of the Arena's smile falter – I don't think he realizes what exactly he has gotten himself into.

Don't worry, I promise to be merciful.

"My dear friend, allow me to give you the honor of starting the match for your dear son." Roman motioned loudly to the noble who happily complied.

"Begin!"

The audience thundered once more as we took a battle stance against each other.

He wastes no time as he moves quickly across the sands. I have to compliment him on his speed because he is much faster than he appears.

Maybe a junior gladiator would have been taken off guard, but not me – because I'm faster.

I side step at the last second and land the butt of my gladius handle on the center of his back. He trips forward, but manages to recover himself by rolling across the dirt and immediately faces towards me in his best defensive stance.

I smirk at the familiar swordplay that I haven't seen in a long time. He fights like a true soldier of Mistral.

The arena erupts in laughter at the expense of the noble before me. I do have to admit that it did look pretty ridiculous with the way he fell.

"It's gonna take more than cheap tricks to get me Reaper." The Adonis spat as he realized that I made a fool of him.

Silently, I raise my shield and clutch on to my sword in my left hand. I can see my opponent's thought process as he tries to register the best way to break through. I understand what he's going through, fighting against me is like fighting backwards… at least that's how Bolin explained it. It's harder for right-handed fighters to get a good read on left-handed fighters, and left-handed fighters are a pretty rare commodity.

I'm pretty much used to it by now.

He goes for an overhead slash at my left side, he thinks that I'm much too small and feeble to move my shield in time to block his blow.

Mistake one, I twist my torso to the left and swing my shield over to catch his sword, with a quick thrust I aim for his exposed abdomen. Now it's his turn to see how fast he can swing his shield over his body.

He was successful, kind of; a light surface wound covered his side as I managed to nick him a bit.

I smirk to myself as he breaks away from me.

But I don't let him.

I lead the charge at him with my shield raised and I pump my legs for all the momentum they can propel me with. Like a mad bull, I ram into him and he staggers backwards, his arms flailing to keep his balance because he knows how deadly it is to be on your back in the arena.

Once more, I don't give him time to regain his balance; I begin to strike at him with my sword. I hear a heavy object being dropped on to the ground and realize that it was his sword. Adonis gave up his sword in order to quickly bring his shield up to avoid my oncoming strikes.

Mistake two, I chuckle to myself, he's not used to my speed – no one is.

My sword nicks him everywhere that he isn't able to cover with his shield, the top of his thigh, the edge of his shoulder, and even some more cuts began to decorate his sides.

His going to be sliced to ribbons soon if he doesn't retaliate.

Which he does, extremely poorly if I might add. Adonis is easily twice my size and I think as a last ditch effort he tries to tackle me to the ground. What he doesn't take into account is where the tip of my sword is once he tries to take me down.

His hands are at my throat, but I twist my sword hand slightly and he lets go. I can feel his life running through the palm of my sword hand as he wheezes. Adonis has his eyes open in disbelief.

Mistake three, my gladius is buried into his stomach and is protruding out of his back.

He rolls off of me on to his side, I take pity on him and remove the sword as swiftly as I can.

"Th-Theo!" The noble man called out, but the crowd was in an uproar over the _upset_ – Theo the Adonis and War Hero brought to his knees by a slave like me.

It's as Roman says from time to time, everyone loves a good under dog story. Speaking of the devil, I look to him to see what judgment he will pass.

"Have mercy on my boy… please." I hear Theo's father plead to Roman, his green eyes scrunch up before looking at the nobleman sympathetically.

"I shall do it as a favor to you then, _my friend._ " I scowl inwardly as his venomous voice spouts out the word friend, I doubt he even has an inkling as to what a _friend_ is.

Roman passes good judgment upon Theo, though there were some hecklers from the crowd waiting for a blood bath.

Guards come swarming into the Arena as they quickly attend to Theo and his wounds. I can hear them shouting for the senior medic to come through and immediately address his wounds. The guard's shouts are quickly drowned out by the crowd, they begin to jeer at the fallen noble and how lackluster his performance was in comparison to mine.

"Adonis? Pffft! Theo the Lame is what you are now!" A random man hollered, the people surrounding him immediately take to the new nickname.

"Make them stop!" I vaguely hear Theo's father in the marble stands, his face panicked as his son is not only gravely injured but the crowd had turned on him.

Roman's face was sympathetic; there not much he could do to calm the crowd. Not that he would have done it in the first place.

The arena is much too worked up at the scene in front of them and I trod off the sands and back into the slave holding area as soon as the gate was raised for me. My heart is ringing in my ears and my sword hand is buzzing. I stop by a water basin to wash off a bit.

Before my bloodied hands even have a chance to break the water's surface, I catch sight of myself – I look completely different than I did before the match.

My eyes seem to have some spark of life in them, something I haven't noticed during the match. I look down at my hands and realize they are still shaking, but not in fear.

I'm excited.

I smile a bit to myself; I haven't felt this way in a long while. I take one more look at the reflection before me.

Oh Oum, this place has twisted me into something else.

* * *

Weiss bit the inside of her cheek as the chants of 'Theo the Lame" echoed off the stone coliseum. She looked down at young noble man still laying on the sands, he had been still for a while now and a stretcher had been rushed to him. The guards and medics made quick work to carry him off.

Theo's father wailed in agony before rushing out of the stands himself.

She was sympathetic to the father, Representative Batiatus, who had just went through the ordeal of watching his son practically being killed in front of him, but at the same time he should know better about the monsters that lurked in the Arena.

The Reaper being one of them, but something about todays match irked Weiss.

Before she would describe Ruby as a cold ruthless fighter, something like a machine that simply killed. But today those silver eyes were blazing with _something_.

Something that was not excitement, it was not fear - it was something menacing.

Today Ruby looked like something akin to the Grimm.

* * *

" _Ruby!" Her voice was all but swallowed by the raging fires that surrounded her. "Someone, please I need help!" Tiny hands frantically pulled at the panicked adults who scurried away from her._

 _They were trying to get as far away from the blazes as possible._

" _Please! My sister is in there!" Lilac eyes were brimmed with tears, the smoke was becoming thick and the air was harder to breathe._

" _R-Ru-" She began to hack violently, her chest hurt._

 _She couldn't breathe._

 _Her hands began clawing at the ground beneath, but all she could see was the black smoke. Her eyes stung and it became impossible to see._

' _I… Someone…. Ruby…. Help.'_

 _The last thing she saw before she passed out was her home collapsing._

 _And Ruby was still inside._

"YANG!"

The blond awoke with a start; tears were running down her face and she finally noticed her uncle standing over her with both of his hands on her shoulder.

"It's just a dream, kid." Qrow smiled gently at his niece, he noticed the look of confusion on her face as her eyes darted about the room. "We're in Menagerie right now, remember? We got in last night."

"Y-Yeah…." Yang took a deep breath and rubbed her eyes awake, she saw the sun outside was high above, "What time is it?"

"Close to midday right now, we were pretty exhausted after that boat trip across the water." Qrow yawned as he got up to stretch his back out, "I'm still pretty sore from all that sitting we did."

"You're just getting old, probably should lay off the liquor soon." Yang smirked as she jumped up, they were going to go see the Faunus' leader today about their Grimm problem.

She took in the sight of Menagerie, it was a practical paradise with its temperate weather and luscious jungle trees. A sweet breeze blew in from the sea and Yang inhaled the fresh air.

Not like the heavy soot she had just dreamed about.

She listened as Qrow's footsteps left the room, no doubt to go use the bathroom and freshen up a bit.

Yang hated it when she would dream about that day – the Great Patch Fire that burned down half the village before it was finally under control. They were alone at the time since Taiyang, her father, abandoned the two. They were on their own for about a month before the fire happened.

'If I ever find you Taiyang, I swear to Oum I'm going to punch you so hard you would wish you were dead.' The huntress seethed, their father abandoned the two almost a year after their mother died. Qrow thinks that the death of Summer was too much for Taiyang to bear and he simply shut down.

No one has heard word of him since.

Qrow was in Vale when the fire happened, he heard word that it was Patch that had almost been burnt down and he came running back to the island as fast as he could.

But it was too late. Yang was recovered after she passed out on the ground and carried to safety, but Ruby was nowhere to be found. A relief station was set up near Patch, which was how Qrow was able to locate his niece. Yang showed Qrow the home they still lived in after Tai left, but all that was left was burnt to ash. They had to assume the worse since Ruby was trapped in there and the house had collapsed before she could escape.

With a heavy heart, Qrow left Patch with Yang and made the choice to hunt down Yang's mother to see if she would be willing to take Yang in. The short answer to that turned out to be no after two years of searching. In turn, Yang grew to despise both of her parents for abandoning her and took to Qrow instead.

Yang knew it killed Qrow on the inside, because despite the fact that he had nothing to do with their situation, Qrow blamed himself. He blamed himself for not checking in on them sooner. He blamed himself for not being their Tai when Summer passed. He blamed himself for not being able to save Ruby.

So it became an unspoken rule that the two would not talk much about the fire, or Tai, or even Ruby.

The pain was seemingly unfathomable.

'I really miss you, Rubes. I hope you're taking good care of her, Oum.' She smiled softly at the sky above her as she recalled some of their better times together. The way Ruby lit up when Summer had a fresh batch of cookies come out, how Yang would take the time to cut the stems of the strawberries for her younger sister, and how the two would spend time playing out in the woods of Patch.

Briefly, Yang toyed with the image of her and Ruby as if they were still together right here and right now. As if she, Qrow, and Ruby were getting ready to go on this Grimm hunts together. She could see those silver eyes beaming with joy, she would look over the view of Menagerie. How excited her hyper active sister would have been to travel to all of these exotic countries.

A tear rolled down Yang's face, but she didn't bother to wipe it away as she smiled to herself at the mental image of her and Ruby together.

* * *

"I have to do this."

"It's not a good-"

"I don't care!" Jaune Arc bellowed as he looked down at the documents before him, he was going back to Vale soon, but he would be back as he was in charge of the prisoner exchange.

Pyrrha sighed, it was a tough week for the Valesian commander – Jaune was in charge of tracking down the prisoners who haven't been verified as released yet. It was easy at first since it seemed to be a case of slave masters refusing to let go of the POWs. Each time a prisoner was freed there was a whole process they were supposed to go through and in the end they would be handed their identification papers from the Office of Official Records. But as they got down the list of names it was then that they ran into those who had perished as slaves.

They were over worked, or too injured upon capture, or died due to slave master's negligence, or killed off inside the Arena.

Jaune was there through every step of the way as he dutifully carried out his job of trying to return all of his soldiers back home. The pile of documents before them were unclaimed identification papers, one pile was the unclaimed documents that Jaune had been tirelessly working through day in and day out.

And the other stack represented those that were confirmed dead.

"I want to do it. I want to fight the Reaper." His jaw was clenched as he looked over the paper at the top of the stack of confirmed dead prisoners. "He was my best friend from childhood." Tears threatened to spill from his tightly clenched eyes.

Captain Cardin Winchester, leader of Commander's Arc personal company and was well known through out the Army for his swordplay.

"You should have left when I told you to." Blue eyes looked over the name once more as he thought back on the fond memories he had of his child hood friend. Cardin refused to retreat with the main army and instead stayed behind with Jaune to help cover everyone's retreat. Eventually they were surrounded and captured by General Ironwood and the two carted off to be sold as slaves in Mistral.

Together the Schnee's bought them and it was together that they fought side by side in the Arena for the first few matches.

Jaune thought back to that hot summer day, he remembered Cardin's body being carted off down the halls as the walls shook and the crowds roared with his murderer's name.

Reaper, being hailed as a damned hero.

Pyrrha sighed, "Let me speak with Roman, for your sake I won't ask for a public match in the Coliseum."

"It has to be-"

"Jaune." Her voice was stern, "Your country lost the war and my countrymen still view Vale in an unfavorable light. If we let you, Commander Jaune Arc – the Shield of Vale, step into the Arena with the Reaper, your fate is most certainly for the worse. See what happened today with Theo!" A firm hand was placed on his shoulder, "You are destined for greater things and I will not let you throw your life away in that Arena. I don't think your friend would have wanted that either."

"You think I can't-"

"No, Jaune, I don't think you can. Not the way you are now." Her words were straight forward and to the point, "I understand your feelings though, really. I think a match against the Reaper would suffice. We all have our ways to grieve, I just don't want you to become another reason to do so." Emerald eyes bore pleadingly into the raging orbs that belonged to the Valesian Commander.

He tightened his hands into fists and punched the table, a small crack could be seen forming in the old wood. With a heavy sigh he straightened his composure once more. "Fine." He looked down at the list of names; there was about a dozen more they had to look through before they were done.

"I'll take care of the rest, just go back to my family's compound and get some sleep." Pyrrha ushered.

"Thanks… Pyr." His tone sounded half defeated as he simply left the back office of the Official Records building.

The Mistrali Commander frowned, as she understood what her friend was going through, but she also knew how important it was to keep a level head. She took another look at the list that Councilman Oobleck had given them; most of the names were crossed off as either freed or confirmed dead. They were getting ready to compile a new list of prisoners whose fate was still undetermined.

But it was getting difficult as they were starting to get to the names of the first people who were taken prisoner in the war. It was chaotic at first when Vale first landed on the Mistral's shores. Hordes of prisoners were brought in and quickly they were being auctioned off as slaves. At first there were discrepancies in the way that a Valesian soldier's documents were being handled, but Councilman Oobleck was quick to come in and correct the system. However, there were still some inconsistencies in the list of names and the available identification papers.

Pyrrha went on to create a list of those prisoners who were recorded in Oobleck's system but did not have any identification papers in the Official Records building. There were a few listed that would be extremely hard to track down due to how their names and date of capture were recorded for example 'Corporal J. Stone. 3rd Month of the 171st Year', 'Jeremy P.', 'Private O 171st Year.', and even 'Scout R.R.'

She sighed, whoever these people were had drawn the short stick of the batch, but she will still work hard to get these people home to their families. Pyrrha looked over the name 'Scout R.R.'; there wasn't even a date of capture listed for them to reference in Oobleck's other records (such as logbooks collected from slavers in the market).

"I promise, I'll do my best to get you all home." Pyrrha stated firmly as she looked over the list she had just written out for the final time.

With a deep breath she stood from the desk and went to lock up the room. The Office of Official Records was guarded around the clock and you needed special access to even get into to the compound. Usually it was given to the councilmen and their designated representatives. All this security was to ensure that Mistral's records were kept accurate as they held documentation and other precious certificates of one's lineage, proof of inheritances, deeds, and so on.

Pyrrha waved to the guards as she left the compound and went on to her last stop of the day.

The Torchwick Villa.

* * *

Sun was sleeping peacefully; his tail was bandage free for the first time in two months since Junior had snapped it in half.

Nadir was out in the courtyard helping some of the other gladiators who had matches coming up soon.

And then there was Bolin's room. Empty. She smiled to herself at the sight, at least there was one thing Roman was good on.

The gladiator sat silently in her room, the wood carvings she had worked on were no longer present since Junior had taken the liberty of confiscating anything he deemed to have any connection to Vale. Which was basically all the woodcarvings Ruby had made.

"C'mon Red, you have been requested for an interesting event today!"

Ruby visibly jumped from where she sat and her face paled at the appearance of her Master in the passageway to her room.

"What's wrong? Not feeling too well?" A shit-eating grin was plastered on his lips as he motioned for her to stand. Neo stood off to the side with Ruby's armor that she wore in the Arena. "Get dressed in your fighting garb and come out to the courtyard." Roman instructed as he left the room.

Neo left behind her armor and Ruby got to it as she began pulling on the leather boots and strapping them up. Her metal vambraces came on and she pulled them taut as she began to bend over and reach for her chest piece.

"I got you." Sun appeared as he had awoken from his slumber as soon as he heard Roman walk in. Ruby nodded as she let her friend help strap her into the chest piece. "Is that tight enough?"

"Perfect." Ruby grunted as she moved her arms around to get really comfortable in.

"Well, this is a first." Sun commented, "I wonder what's going on."

"Not sure, but I don't have a good feeling about it." The smaller gladiator sighed as she began to step out of the slave compound and into the courtyard.

On the first floor patio sat Pyrrha Nikos and Jaune Arc along with Roman and a few house slaves attending them.

Immediately Ruby noticed the Commander dressed in his armor and his signature shield on his back.

"Six months ago you killed a friend of mine and was touted like a hero in that damned Arena. Today, I want a match with you on behalf of that man you killed – Cardin Winchester." Jaune was quick to the punch as he cut off Roman before he had a chance to speak. Her master sent a look to Pyrrha, who merely shrugged in response. "I knew Cardin since we were children back in Vale, we may have had a rough start but he proved to be one of my greatest friends."

Commander Arc was quick to stand center of the courtyard with his shield raised and his sword poised. Ruby looked around for something, anything to defend herself with.

"To your left, Red." Roman instructed as Ruby spotted a prospect running from the weapon storage with her sword and shield in hand. Quickly, she grabbed the two items and dropped into a practiced stance. The other prospects and slaves had stopped what they were doing and immediately made space for the two as the light autumn air immediately turned cold.

It was quiet.

With a lunge, Jaune charged forward and his blade flashed underneath the sun and clouds of sand and dirt were being kicked up beneath both of the fighter's feet. He moved like a cat despite the bulky shield he carried, and it appeared he had the strength of a lion as the Reaper broke away with a light cut on her forearm.

But Jaune didn't give his opponent time to get resettled as the famous shield of Vale was hoisted up. The emblem of Vale shone brightly for a brief moment and Ruby was immediately brought back to her memories as a Scout. The enormous shield collided with the small gladiator's body and Ruby was sent back a good bit, but still managed to remain on her feet.

Her shield arm ached from the attack and her side throbbed, as it was apparent there would be a bruise there later. Across from her she saw the raging eyes of the Commander.

Then it finally clicked in her mind as she remembered who Cardin Winchester was, he was hailed in the Army for his brilliant swordplay and known famously to be a part of the Commander Arc's personal guard. He was a formidable opponent and was honorable in defeat, which Ruby awarded with a quick death.

'You're here for revenge? Against me… of all people.' The Reaper smiled to herself at the thought, something the Commander hastily noticed.

"Why are you smiling? Do you think this is all fun and games? I told you that this is on behalf of my friend and you think it's a joke?!" Jaune riled as his rage fueled into something deeper.

It wasn't Ruby's intent to do so, but she could tell that Arc was not in a listening mood.

Jaune charged forward again, but this time the Reaper met him half way through. The harsh sound of metal colliding against each other echoed throughout the courtyard. With each parry and stroke of her sword Ruby could feel the world slipping away and eventually all she could focus in on was her loud heartbeat and the opponent before her.

The world began to slip away from her and for once she felt something she thought she would never feel again. The rush of the battle before this brilliant opponent and the sheer irony of the situation made her adrenaline pump even wilder than before. A small smirk made it's way to her face.

Her movements became sharper, her steps quicker than before, and her strength was like that of a viper as she lashed out viciously. And it just made sense all at once as the two broke away from the engagement and began circling each other like tigers.

She could find some escape in these battles with her life on the line. She could escape from her imprisonment and predicament if she simply threw everything she had into the fight.

Ruby began to notice that her euphoria was wearing off as suddenly as it came as she began to take note of her surroundings and the people watching her. The wounds she had sustained in the bout were starting to take notice as she felt her own blood running down a wound she received on her side. Wanting another taste of relief from it all, she dashed forward once more.

Sun and Nadir exchanged a look as they noticed a change in Ruby's fighting style, before Ruby would fight violently for show as he style was more precise and speed based. Now she was beginning to fight like a caged animal that craved for more.

Jaune raised his shield once more in an attempt to charge at his opponent, but the Reaper knew exactly how to counter it as she deftly flipped over the Commander. Her sword was expertly poised for Jaune's shield arm and she felt the tip being dragged from his wrist to his elbow. As soon as she landed behind him, she swung her sword around and left a deep gash on her opponent's back.

In a true Reaper fashion, the finishing blow was already on it's way without Ruby having to think as her eyes locked on to the exposed neck of the Shield of Vale.

But a flash of red filled her view and defiant emerald eyes stared her down.

"Enough! You've won!" Commander Nikos bellowed.

The Reaper kept the tense sword lock for a few seconds more before becoming compliant and stepping back.

"Red, drop your weapons now and step to the side." Roman commanded.

Like a well-trained dog, Ruby complied as she dropped the items and took a couple steps back. She assumed the position of respect for extra measure as she kept her hands folded in front for her master to see and her head tilted downwards. She took note of the wounds that she received during the fight as both arms sported a few slashes, but the one that she would have to attend to soon would be the wound on her side, which was starting to stain through her armor. But she knew better as Roman had yet dismissed her completely.

Out of the corner of her eyes she saw Sun walk off briskly to the underground passage that connected the slave compound to the Villa. She knew that he was going to get Octavia ready to treat her wounds as soon as she was dismissed.

"Get Miltiades." Roman barked off next and a slave immediately took off to where the medic was.

"Is it deep?" Jaune was hunched over on his knees in pain as his back stung. Pyrrha remained silent, as she looked the wound over, "Just give it to me straight."

"It's pretty bad." Pyrrha commented, "She has a good swing." She observed how easily the gladiator cut through Jaune's armor. "How's your arm?"

"It's shallow, thankfully, but I need help taking off my shield." Jaune winced as the blood flowed from the wound on his left forearm.

"He's going to need stitches." Miltiades did a quick once over of the Commander, "Go get a stretcher, he can't walk with his back like that."

Roman observed the scene before him as he approached Pyrrha, "Sorry if it's not in good taste, but I wish to discuss that wager we had." He flashed a quick smile, "It's just to keep good business."

Pyrrha looked over her friend who was clearly in pain before turning her attention to the slave master, "Of course, allow me to talk with my Father first about the date, but it will happen."

"Y-you… you bet on the match?" Jaune let out in disbelief.

"She betted on you." Roman smiled down at the blond, "If you won I would have let bygones be bygones and let you go after fighting my most prized gladiator in a private match. But since I won I get to host the biggest match Mistral has seen thus far – Commander Pyrrha Nikos the Champion of Mistral versus Reaper the Champion of the Arena."

"What?" His voice squeaked.

"It's okay, Jaune. I'm not concerned about that now." Pyrrha smiled softly, "Everything's going to be okay, let's just focus on you first."

Ruby watched on as she looked over the Mistrali Commander, she had a feeling that Pyrrha was going to be unlike any other match before.

"Do you have anything else to say to Red?" Roman questioned the two as he looked over his slave, he saw the wound she sported but didn't deem it important enough to interrupt Commander Arc's treatment.

"No." Jaune's face was strained as the slaves help lay him on the cot to be carried away to the infirmary.

"Go lick your wounds Red." Roman commanded, the slave nodded and Nadir was quick to Ruby's side to escort her to where Sun and Octavia would be waiting.

* * *

 _The fire burned around her, the building moaned under it's own weight as it threatened to bow with it's weakening support. The smoke was thick and her eyes watered, her own voice hoarse from screaming for help._

 _But no help did come._

 _A wall collapsed and Ruby could see the opening to the outside. She ran as fast as her legs could carry her as her lungs screamed for air. She collapsed on the grass outside as she had barely escaped, before she could look for her sister a stranger scooped her up and began running away._

" _Go to the river! It's safer there!" She heard the man scream._

" _Y-Yang…." Ruby muttered as her voice remained hoarse, "Need… Yang." She began to struggle, but her world was incoherent and dizzying. She felt something wet on her head, her hand touched it and she realized it was from her. She was bleeding._

 _The world faded out and soon Ruby passed out._

Ruby woke up in a sweat at the memory, she hated it whenever she would dream of the fire. She was five at the time and she couldn't make much of the situation at the time due to her age. Then there was the fact that she couldn't remember too much from before the fire too, that was due to her head injury.

All that she could remember was a blond girl with lilac eyes and a beaming smile who was her sister. Everything else was just a blank.

There was no moon outside that night and all she could see around her was darkness, all she could hear was the quiet breathing of Sun and Nadir who were across the hall.

She closed her eyes and sat back as she thought of another memory of her time at the orphanage. She was about 7 when she was finally able to understand and comprehend what happened during that time.

" _I think someone thought you were dead and tossed you into the sea with the rest of the dead bodies they did a sea burial for from Patch." An older Ruby sat with lady in charge of the orphanage, "When we first found you, you were incoherent and you had a gash at the back of your head. It was by Oum himself that you even survived that long at sea and was fished up by those fishermen. They took you here and you were incoherent for almost a month, we had a doctor come in and examine your head and try to treat you. But the damage was done, as you can tell since you can't recall the name of your mother or father."_

 _Ruby sat quietly as she took in the information, something that set her apart from the other children was that she was quick witted. "So I remember asking about Yang…"_

 _A sullen look was on the Madame Weatherly's face, "We asked around at the other orphanages for that young girl with blond hair and lilac eyes, the other orphanages hadn't seen her. There was one man who did say he saw a child who fit the description at the relief station they set up, but I haven't found any other leads than that. I even sent my son over to Patch to see if he could find anything." The Madame put a comforting hand on Ruby._

" _Thank you, Madame."_

"Yang…" She whispered the name for the first time in ages.

She used to dream that Yang was somewhere out there just waiting for her, that one day, after her time in the Army, she would go out and look for her sister. Now… now it just seemed pointless, Yang probably died in that fire too and that man who said he thinks he saw her was just being nice to Ruby.

Through the darkness she reached for the fire dust crystal that would light up the room once you touched it. She simply sat and stared at the crystal as she shifted through her thoughts and what has become of her life now.

She was cornered here, unless she wanted to wish an ill fate on the only people who have genuinely cared for her for the past few years.

'I would never do that, I'm not Roman.' Ruby sternly thought as she was mesmerized by the crystal's glow, 'So this is it…'

Ruby Rose decided on something right then and there, she would continue on for her friends.

'And hopefully, for something more too…' She couldn't exactly figure out why she suddenly wished to be wrapped up in the scent of fresh mint.

* * *

A/N:

So I've been busy for a bit, I will say I am back stateside but I've had my plate full with a lot of things since I've been back. Gladiator isn't dead, it's just a long term project if you will. I will say that we are starting to get _somewhat close_ to what I have planned to be the half-way (or probably third-way) mark of the story.

Once again, thank you everyone who had reviewed or messaged me about the story. I really do appreciate everyone's words, I can't properly explain how much of a pick-me-up it was to read those reviews or messages while I was deployed (because it kinda sucked...).

Chapter 8! My short-term goal is to have 8 done in a month (busy schedule now) but I will say that once things settle down I am very ambitious about having a whole month of weekly updates (we'll see how well things pan out first).

I hope you all enjoyed this much anticipated chapter of Gladiator and maybe I'll see some of you guys again in the next one.

Also, I'm looking to commission someone to do a cover art page for Gladiator. If you would like to recommend someone, then please PM me. I figured I'll start here before I start venturing out.

Cheers,

DevilRed


	8. Lurking and Lust

"Well, here."

Perplexed, Blake looked up at the item in her Master's hand. It was a book.

The Faunus was caught off guard at the gesture as a rare look of confusion was clearly written on Blake's face, "W-What- I mean, what is this for?" Blake stammered out as she stood up from her task of folding the clean linen.

Weiss kept her composure as she wanted to keep the air as friendly and open as possible, "Klein mentioned that you read through most of books we had on hand. He also mentioned that you were keen to novels about adventures…"

Amber eyes blinked as she was still shell shocked at the gesture before her, she had never heard of a slave master _buying something for their slave._ "I… thank you." Blake took the book from Weiss and watched the merchant walk off into her office.

"If you're in need of something, please." The Schnee looked back at the slave, "Let Klein or even myself know." A genuine smile was seen on the lips of Weiss Schnee.

Blake nodded her head as she watched Weiss retreat into her office to tend to the paperwork that was a part of her craft.

'I was always told Schnee's hated the Faunus.' Blake thought to herself as she thumbed through the pages of the book, 'She has so far proved everything I've heard about them wrong…'

She shook her head as she closed the book, 'No, this could be a farce… and I have to stay focused.'

Amber eyes looked to the sky as she felt the autumn breeze blow, it was getting colder which signaled the coming arrival of a string of Mistrali holidays that were celebrated in the winter months.

After all, she was biding her time until she and her brethren could walk free from the collar around her neck.

* * *

"Neptune, left!" Sun commanded as the two broke apart to avoid getting skewered by the trident their opponent carried.

He was built like a tower and each thrust they parried was like a cannonball. Neptune had a hard time believing that this guy spent most of his life fishing before ultimately finding his fate here in the Arena.

"C'mon sonny, you gotta show some gall if you wanna win!" A bystander in the crowd shouted out as a few high-pitched whistles could be heard all around.

Sun was quick to retaliate and he certainly lived up to his namesake of the Monkey King as he swiftly danced around his opponent. Neptune watched in awe as the giant was being decorated in sword wounds, Sun made it look so easy.

"Don't forget about me now." A net went flying right towards Neptune, but the rough training he received as a prospect automatically kicked in as he deftly rolled forward and narrowly missed getting entangled in the trap that usually meant one's life.

The crowd roared and Neptune could hear spurts of "Go, blue, go!" for his hair. His opponent was at a slight disadvantage, he carried no shield since he opted for the sword and net. The net was now useless to Neptune's opponent so long as he ensured he didn't pick it back up.

The green gladiator stood his ground as he exchanged blows with the smaller opponent. It was becoming clear that Neptune's swordplay was superior since the enemy was quickly wearing out. Hastily – his opponent put some space between them to help catch his breath and rethink his strategy.

But the smaller man simply smirked as his eyes darted behind Neptune.

"Run!" Sun roared as he attempted to catch up from where he was previously thrown by the giant. Neptune noticed he was going to be in a compromising position with the big oaf charging at him.

"Shit." He decided it was time to do something a bit bold, but it's not like he had a choice unless he wanted to become worm food at the end of the day. 'Come on shorty, I know you wanna…' Sweat poured down the blue gladiator's face as his heart pounded within his ears.

And just like he hoped for, the shorter opponent made a lunge towards Neptune in an attempt to complete the pincer attack. What he did next was something he had seen Nadir do a few times during training. He threw his round shield like a discus at the short opponent and felt a wave a relief as he saw that despite his wild aim, the shield hit it's mark.

Now that Neptune was lighter without the shield he was able to jump out of the way before the spear impaled him from behind.

"I can't believe that worked." Neptune muttered to himself as he scrambled to his feet.

"I'm right here!" Sun came jumping high over with both of his swords raised overhead, the attack effectively dismembered the giant's arm and a river of blood began to flow. The slice was done so precisely that it seemed the giant barely noticed as he lifted his one good arm to counter-attack. However, Sun didn't let up as he continued the combination against the one-handed giant.

Neptune felt sick at the sight, but quickly he was brought to his senses due to the impeding danger he felt. The shorter opponent had managed to recover his lost net and had already thrown the trap at Neptune. He didn't have time to evade it, so instead he raised her sword to try to get it caught on there instead – once again he thanked this technique to the training he had as a prospect.

It worked, but now Neptune was without his weapon since it was tangled up in a useless heap. His enemy didn't miss the cue as he came charging at the unarmed slave.

Only a couple yards off to the side Neptune caught sight of the giant himself falling on to the unforgiving sands, he was stone still as a rush of red came out from underneath him. The light in his eyes wavered every so slightly before becoming a distant and cold gaze.

Sun was sweating heavily from the bout, but quickly assessed the situation in front of him. With a practiced hand he threw one of his gladius aimed at the last opponent, but the enemy saw the attack coming and immediately backed off – effectively dodging the sword throw.

"Catch!" Sun called out as he kicked up the trident towards his partner. He could have tried to go for another throw with his last sword, but something within him wanted to see if the newbie had what it takes to truly last in here.

Neptune kept one eye on his opponent who was getting ready to charge at him once more, he caught the spear mid-air and brought the pole up just in time to avoid getting his face slice in half.

He didn't have as much training with a spear like he did with the sword, but he knew the basics from what he learned as a prospect. The steps were textbook and he knew someone like Ruby would easily dismantle him, but it was enough to overwhelm his opponent and that was all he cared about.

With a final thrust he felt the tip of the trident make contact with his opponents lower abdomen.

"Urgh…" Neptune watched as his opponent fell to his knees with the spear still impaling him. The new gladiator noticed how his hands had refused to let go of the spear, his body just didn't seem like it was his own anymore. He had done it, he had finally inflicted a mortal wound on someone. Neptune had finally met his fate of murdering a living human being. The feeling was further cemented by the look of disbelief of his _skewered_ opponent.

And he felt absolutely nauseous.

"I got it." Sun muttered as he approached the two, Roman had already passed judgment (which was death) but Neptune hadn't moved an inch since he stabbed the last opponent. He could guess what the newbie was going through since it was his first time in the Arena.

His first time attempting to _kill_ another person.

With a swagger of his sword, the head came rolling off – Sun made it look so easy before his partner. By the time Neptune could react, Sun quickly grabbed the slave by his arm and the Faunus watched as the spear came out of the body – the newbie's hands were still glued to the pole arm by the tell tale signs of his white knuckles.

"Don't puke here. Hold it in. Raise your weapon and act like you had sex for the first time." Sun advised to his partner.

Neptune nodded as he did his best to swallow what already came up.

Shakily, he held up the spear in hand as he cheered the best he could, doing his best to keep the bile from bubbling up once more.

"That's a good look on Neptune there, why didn't I think of that in the first place?" Roman commented, "Don't you think so too?" He asked his companion, another noble who owned the two gladiators that Sun and Neptune just killed off.

"Hm, it really does suit his namesake of Neptune. I think you should roll with it." He waved his hand, "Keep the spear, I don't want it back after that disaster." A roll of his eyes as he spat at the now two useless bodies he once owned. "Good fight, as always your gladiators are top notch, nothing less from the famed House Torchwick."

"It's hard work to get them to where they need to be." Roman sighed, "And your two gladiators were no slouch either, I thought for sure I was going to be one body short on gladiators at one point."

"Ah, they were just two fishermen who couldn't pay back a loan for their boat a while back. " The fellow gladiator owner waved his hand, "I'm sure I can find more for next time. Until then, see you around Roman."

"See you." Roman called back as he turned his attention back to the Arena. The slave master was debating on staying for the last fight of the day or heading back to his Villa. Red had done an excellent job of dismembering the opponent before Neptune's debut match, he smirked to himself as he recalled what was _left_ of the man _before_ Roman had passed judgement and granted the merciful death. His precious Reaper was probably in the best form he had ever seen.

Meanwhile, one of the said slaves was hunched over and his stomach emptied itself at the side of the passageway back to the cells.

Sun rubbed his back while the newly christened gladiator dry heaved.

"You'll get used to it after today." The Faunus reassured as he looked away from the vomit, if he stared too long his stomach would be doing the same thing.

"Thanks." Neptune heaved, he realized that he was still holding on to spear he had taken from their opponents, "Should I give this back?"

Sun motioned for his partner to walk, "Just keep it, Master Torchwick had a pleased look on his face while you were holding it. This might become your thing."

"What do you mean 'thing'?" Neptune asked as they approached their cell, the guards were lax around them, but it was mostly due to the fact that Sun was Neptune's partner, if it were just Neptune he would be getting a much stricter treatment. The two were locked into their cage and they sat on the cool floor of the cell.

Ruby was taking a nap when they came back, Neptune wasn't sure how the seasoned fighter did it - she hadn't bothered to wash off the blood that was now caked on her face and hands. What more, she didn't even have a scratch on her from her fight.

"Like how Nadir has the Wilding thing, Rubes has that Reaper motif, and I'm known as the Monkey King… albeit I secretly hate the name, but it's my thing… whether I like it or not." He sighed, his blues eyes flicked towards his sleeping friend - he smiled to himself because Ruby looked so much younger in her sleep than she did while she was awake.

"You don't like being called Monkey King?" Neptune was surprised, he thought the name was kind of cool.

Sun sighed, "No, I don't. I think it's racist and it hurts my pride in being a Faunus."

"What do you mean?"

"It's like me calling you Blue Hair or Human Boy. It's kinda degrading and it's annoying after a while." Sun looked up, "Growing up, humans always felt the need to call us by the animal traits we have, rather than our true names."

"I… I think I get what you mean, kind of like when we're referred to as slaves."

Sun smiled at the analogy, "I think I'm gonna use that one more often when people ask why I hate being called Monkey King."

"So do you tell people not to call you that often then?"

"No, I can't." Another sigh, "It's my thing, remember? Torchwick wouldn't be happy if I went against it. But I do tell people like you and Nadir and stuff."

"I'll keep that in mind then, Sun." A quick smile.

Sun returned the gesture in full, "Thanks, Neptune."

"You guys done flirting yet?" Ruby's sleepy voice pierced through the cell, the Faunus rolled his eyes and playfully pushed her shoulder as she sat up. She scrunched up her nose, "At least learn to puke without getting it on yourself."

Neptune smiled sheepishly for the smell, "S-Sorry."

Later that night the Gladiators under the Torchwick name gathered around in the slave compound to celebrate the birth of a new Gladiator and to welcome him into the ranks.

Neptune beamed proudly as he knew what this meant, no longer would he have to yield in line to the seniors for food, no longer would he wait idly by in the bath for someone else to finish. He had earned the respect and place amongst the gladiators now.

Roman usually let the slaves have their little fun during these events since it wasn't often that they successfully welcomed prospects into the ranks of full-fledged gladiators. Despite the hellish training that the prospects endured before their first battle, the odds were still 50/50 when it came to surviving the first match.

"So how many does this make now?" One of the gladiators asked as they all indulged in the casks of wine and extra plates of food from Torchwick's personal cooking staff. It was part of the fun that Roman let his gladiators indulge in during these rare events. Neptune recognized the gladiator as Sage, he had been christened as a new gladiator when Neptune first arrived at the Villa nearly 9 months ago.

"We're about 13 strong now in numbers." Nadir did the math, "It's been a good year for us, this is probably the least amount of Torchwick gladiators that I've seen die in the Arena." With Bolin gone, Nadir held the mantle of most senior gladiator in terms of time.

"Do you guys count the prospects too?" Neptune questioned, he remembered a couple other faces that were picked up around the same time as him.

They were either dead or still prospects.

Sun shook his head, "We don't, it'd be a bit much… We generally keep track of those who make it past their first match." The Faunus omitted the fact that an average gladiator didn't last more than a year in the Arena. Which is part of the reason why Ruby, Bolin, Nadir, and himself became so famous as they made it well past their _expiration date._

"Was everyone's first match like mine?" Neptune recalled how sick he felt when he saw all the blood.

"You mean to ask if we puked our guts out? Because that's a no for me." Nadir joked.

"I was queasy, but I didn't blow chunks." Sun chimed in.

The other gladiators began to recount their first time experiences in the Arena, Neptune nodded and took in all the information before it finally made way to the most quiet of them all.

"What about you Ruby?" Neptune asked jovially, "What was it like going from prospect to gladiator?"

It turned strangely quiet after the question was hung in the air, Neptune was confused because he wasn't sure what had just happened.

"Neptune… don't worry-"

"It's fine." Ruby sighed as she cut off Sun, "I was never a prospect to begin with, so I guess you can say I'm not really supposed to be a Gladiator." Ruby drank her wine slowly, "I was supposed to be a house slave, but I didn't _conform_ well enough. Torchwick finally had enough of me and decided to throw me into the Arena against a pack of Beowolves during a Taming of the Beast event. He had the event talked up as some sort of comedy, 'Little Red Riding Hooding Takes on the Big Bad Wolves'. The crowd loved the idea of it."

She thought back to her first fight, alone and cornered with just a sword in one hand and a shield in another. The armor she wore was piss-poor quality and the blood stained burlap sack was supposed to be her 'cape'.

"What Torchwick didn't expect was for Little Red to turn out to be a wolf herself."

Another gladiator with red hair chipped in what he remembered of it, "I was a prospect at the time and Torchwick had a party to celebrate the feat a few days later. She slayed five of those Grimm by herself. It was unheard of, they said such a thing rivaled Lady Nikos herself." Neptune knew his name was Scarlet, he had been christened an official Gladiator for almost a year now. The only ones who out ranked his seniority were Sun and the remainder of Torchwick's precious Core.

"That was almost two and a half years ago now, huh?" Nadir recalled.

Neptune was in awe, but something didn't make sense. "But how did you get your training to do that if you were never a prospect to begin with?"

Silence fell on the group once more, two of the older gladiators shot glances at Ruby, Sun, and Nadir while a majority didn't know what to say.

"Sage, Scarlet… not a word." Nadir commanded the two gladiators; they nodded their heads as the rest of the group was confused. Neptune noticed that the confused ones were those who were Gladiators for less than half a year it seems.

He noticed a trend – the average lifespan of a Gladiator was less than a year (excluding the obvious ones). Neptune clenched his jaw as he drowned the fact out with the wine in his hand.

"That's something you shouldn't be asking." Ruby's tone was low, the atmosphere was cold once more.

Sun nudged Ruby, who rolled her eyes but quickly broke into a smile, "So Neptune, congrats on surviving so far." The mood lightened up once more, "We may be damned slaves, but those of us in this group right now - we're the unluckiest of the bunch to bear this horrible fate of being a Gladiator. So fight, struggle, and do what you must to continue surviving from now on. And hopefully be as lucky as Bolin."

Sun chuckled at the little speech, "Do what you must to survive, that goes for everyone here."

The circle of gladiators toasted one more time before concluding Neptune's induction into their ranks.

* * *

"Interesting." Silver hair flashed in the dim lighting of the underground tunnels, "I can't believe you manage to produce such a thing."

In his hand he held a peculiar piece of earth Dust.

"It wasn't easy, we ran out of collars and Dust crystals before we got it to work just right." The blood red locks were barely visible in the fire Dust crystals glow.

Mercury Black snapped his fingers, "I remember hearing about a slew of curious robberies, most common items stolen were unused slave collars from the nobles homes." He narrowed his gaze at the Faunus before him, "One tried to get into my master's home once, but obviously that didn't turn out well for him."

"He was foolish to think that he could break into the Fall Villa, I warned them of who to steer clear of but that idiot…" The figure in the white Grimm mask trailed off, "He wasn't the only one we lost, a few others were captured during the attempt to secure more resources for our experiment." He left it at that.

"Their sacrifices weren't in vain," Mercury ran a hand around his neck.

It felt so damn good to be rid of that slave collar.

"So… are you in?" Adam Taurus proposed once more.

Mercury Black smiled, "Of course I'm in." He sighed heavily, "But you know, I have to get back home soon – it'll be a problem if I just suddenly disappear." He grabbed the wretched collar and proceeded to put it back on.

"We're lucky to have you on our side, you're a strong one indeed." The Faunus nodded his head, "If only we could recruit more gladiators as strong as you."

"Roman Torchwick's crop is what you're after." Mercury raised a brow, Adam nodded his head in confirmation.

"It's near impossible to try and get in touch with them, Torchwick keeps his slaves on the shortest leash I've ever seen. The two moles we tried to send in died during his training, and even while they were in the Villa we couldn't get in touch with them."

Mercury hummed, "Roman's got a reputation to uphold, not to mention his family has been doing this for generations. My master mentioned that Roman runs a tight ship with his gladiators. Probably has the best security detail in all of Mistral."

"But you understand though, right? If we had the strength of one or two Torchwick gladiators we would be more than successful." A fist was tightly clenched at the thought.

"Tell you what." Mercury ran a hand on his collar, the familiar weight back in place, "Tell me a little bit more about your operation and I'll stick my neck out for you and try to recruit one of them."

"And why should I let you in on that?" The Faunus narrowed his eyes.

The Fall gladiator shrugged, "The scholars say knowledge is power, and I'm going to want as much of that as possible if you expect to be a part of this scheme you got going on." He leaned in closer to the White Fang leader, "What else you got to lose? Unless you want to send in another mole and try to get in touch with those gladiators. From the sounds of it, you're going to need all the able bodies you can get."

Adam Taurus eyed the slave up and down before letting out a deep breathe.

"Fine, here's what we got so far."

* * *

Sea blue eyes looked out at the crowd before him, then to his left and right. He was envious of the armor the others wore, even if it had never seen a day in the Arena.

Sun's white scales that danced up his right arm glowed in the ample lighting while his abs were rubbed down with lavender oil to give it the extra shine and the blue scarf was a nice touch too. The Monkey King's dual gladius were both ornate in design, the metal itself was even white too.

Ruby's wolf head on the intricate chest piece and long red cape made perfect sense to Neptune after learning the story behind her slaying a pack of Beowolves, his eyes lingered on the beautiful rose patterns that made up her shoulder pieces. Her sword was of a dark metal, the ornate pattern barely visible, but Neptune would never forget that sword. Not since that fight he had with Ruby when he was a fresh prospect – he understood now the gravity of the situation back then and was deeply in her debt for her mercy.

Then there was Nadir, his armor the most simple of the two. He wore an all black metal chest piece and around his waist was a thick leather sword belt, even his sword was a simple gladius that they often used for practice. The eye-catching piece was supposed to be his cloak. A fierce lion head was perched a top of Nadir's head as the rest of the pelt fell down his back like a cape. The Wilding looked stoic in his garb and once more Neptune yearned for something like it.

From what he heard from Scarlet, Roman arranged for the Core Four (when Bolin was still around) to have their armor specially made once they cemented their fame into the Arena.

Neptune paled in comparison to the well polished display around him, all he had was the trident in hand while the rest was just the plain armor he wore during his fight in the Arena.

"Stop looking around." Nadir muttered, "You remember what we said."

Neptune gulped and then looked straight ahead.

They were to stand like marble statues, moving only when addressed or commanded other wise.

The newest Gladiator's legs were already tired, but he was to stand here all night like this unless other wise commanded. Neptune remembered what Sun said, after a few hours (and once the drink settled in) there would usually be requests for a show or other wise. If he was lucky, Torchwick may allow Neptune to be _requested_ for _special services_.

'But it probably won't happen because I haven't… performed…. In front of Master Torchwick yet.' Neptune remembered when he asked the question out of curiosity.

" _How come not all the gladiators have to do the things Sun do, like sleeping with the Nobles?" Now that Neptune was indoctrinated, he was able to speak freely amongst the Torchwick Gladiators._

" _That's right, no one's probably told you yet." Sage rubbed his chin as he sighed, "You have to sex with one of the house slaves while Master Torchwick watches so that he can appraise you on it. It wouldn't do if Master Torchwick sold a bad quality product." He decided to be straightforward with it._

" _A-Appraises?" Neptune was in disbelief, "B-But that's just so… so…"_

 _Sage shook his head, "I know, it's weird, but you get used to it after a while – at least that's what Sun and Nadir told me."_

" _Wait…" Neptune shook his head, "So how many Gladiators have been requested for a sex service?"_

 _Sage chuckled, "Honestly, just the Core Four. Nobles love to brag that they slept with a 'Champion'. Us 'common gladiators' are looked down upon as dogs when in comparison to them."_

" _So Ruby also-"_

" _Ruby isn't really up for grabs, Master Torchwick doesn't want to risk getting her pregnant. But I know for a fact that a few female nobles fancy her, one of the most prominent being Lady Fall."_

 _Neptune's eyes went wide, he knew of Cinder Fall – daughter to the King's Councilman Salem Fall. "H-Holy Dust."_

" _By Oum, I swear it's true. Master Torchwick holds quiet a bit of influence on the outside because of his Gladiators."_

"Monkey King and my dear Wilding." Roman had a tell tale smile on his face as a group of noble women followed behind them, "It appears someone is celebrating their birthday today…" A woman stepped up to the side of Torchwick.

"She's in her 23rd year starting today." The slave master explained, his white robes flowed with his extravagant gestures.

'She's got to be lying.' Neptune thought to himself as he kept a straight face. If we were being honest to Oum, then the woman looked easily in her late thirties and she _did not_ age like fine wine at all.

"I'm charmed that you would think of me as an appropriate gift for one as delightful as you." Sun was light on his feet as he stepped off the pedestal, with an elegant air about him, he bowed before the noble woman.

"Well not just you, I thought it appropriate to celebrate with _him_ too." She gestured towards Nadir who sauntered off the podium, every step he took exuded with his power and hardiness.

'Definition of a bad ass.' The new Gladiator with held a smirk, he knew that Nadir was doing this for show as he never sauntered like that in his every day mannerisms.

"I am at your disposal tonight." Nadir bowed his head, his voice a tad bit deeper than usual.

"Eager Champions we have here." One of the better-looking ones of the _birthday girl's_ entourage spoke out.

"I swear by the stars that they're like young bulls." Roman's snake like grin was plastered on his face.

"And you say that there's _enough_ for _all of us_ to get our _fill."_ Another woman (also probably in her late thirties) couldn't contain the naughty blush.

"I swear it by the good Torchwick name." The slave master raised his hand as if he were giving an unbreakable vow, he casted a side eyed glance to Sun and Nadir. Both of them silently understood what that look meant.

 _You fuck them senseless, or else._

Neptune counted the women – a total of nine, 'Oum's speed for the both of you.' He said the silent prayer.

"And you King of the Seas." Roman turned his attention to him, "You will go back to your quarters after Melanie takes back your garb."

Neptune nodded his head, he knew where the underground dressing chamber for the slaves was and immediately turned heel to go.

Ruby envied the new gladiator as he was dismissed for the night, she was hoping none of the usual lady nobles were feeling all that frisky.

"You've been requested as well, but my friend wished to keep a low profile unlike the fine ladies who walked off with Sun and Nadir." She loathed the man's sickly sweet tone, "She'll be waiting for you upstairs in the room Octavia is standing in front of." With a wave of his hand, Ruby was dismissed to go attend her task.

Every step up the marble stair made the armor feel even heavier, the cloak more stifling as Ruby mentally prepared herself for the night. She had to make sure she did this right and see things through properly.

Octavia was a breathe of fresh air, she held a cask full of water and offered it to Ruby. The two were upstairs and out of sight from the nobles, but most importantly their Master.

"Thank you." Ruby whispered as she took deep gulps of cask, a bit of water came dripping down the side of her mouth and she wiped it away with the back of her hand. "Do you know who it is?" Her voice still low as she fixed her outfit to look as presentable as possible.

Octavia shook her head no, "I've brought a cask of water and wine for the Lady inside." She announced in a normal voice.

"The water cask is a bit light, would you please refill it so that the Lady is well attended to?" Ruby questioned back, also in her normal tone.

"Observant you are, I did not notice, I will be back shortly."

"Just place it by the door and I will see to it." The Gladiator instructed, she smiled once more to Octavia for the small treat. She carried the cask of wine in her arm as she placed a palm on the oak door.

With a deep breath, she pushed it open to see what challenge lay before her.

Ruby Rose stopped dead in her tracks as the door creaked to a close.

"You look like you've spotted a Grimm." Weiss Schnee mused as she sat at the edge of the fine bedding.

"I- Forgive me, I just never thought that you were the type to-" Silver eyes went wide as the comment easily slipped through her lips. If Roman were to find out she said that….

"Are you insinuating that you think I'm a loose-"

"Master Schnee, I humbly apologize for any negative implication I have given. Please allow me to-"

A soft hand caressed her cheek, Ruby blinked as she had her head bowed for the apology.

"Relax, I just wanted to see you." Weiss' tone was gentle towards the slave. "It's been so long since… Since summer."

"It has." Silver eyes softened as she looked into those ice blue pools.

A smile broke and a long sigh exhaled from the Merchant, "By Oum, I thought that look was gone."

"L-Look?" Ruby was perplexed.

"Your look." Weiss motioned for the slave to sit, "Lately you look like a wild Grimm during your matches, before I thought you fought so brutally elegant… now it's just brutal." She recalled the match she saw the day before, Weiss Schnee was learning to hate this new side of the Gladiator was starting to come out while she fought.

"I see." The Gladiator took in the information, she could feel how genuine the Merchant's concerns were towards Ruby.

It made her feel so alive to know that.

Weiss sighed as she moved her hand from Ruby's cheeks down towards the skin on her neck, she could tell the fighter was lost in thought as she processed what the Merchant had voiced earlier. - but the slave suddenly shot her hand up and quickly grabbed at her wrist once Weiss dared to dip her fingers towards where Ruby's collar bone was. A frantic look flashed across those silver eyes - she looked like a kicked dog for a moment there.

Weiss narrowed her eyes, Ruby wasn't like this the last time they were together.

"Did something happen?" Weiss questioned, something was amiss and it only further fueled her concerns over the past few months of the Gladiator.

"I was just off guard." Ruby swallowed hard as she was quick to dismiss Weiss' concern.

"Did Roman do something to you?" She tested once more, Ruby paled at the mention of Roman's name and the look of freight on the fighter's face was something so foreign.

Ruby breathed in deep as she remembered where they were.

At Torchwick's Villa, in one of Torchwick's room, _during_ one of his parties.

This was not the place and it especially was not the _time_ for any kind of discrete discussion. It was well known among the slaves that Roman got all kinds of useful information during his extravagant parties, information that he more often than not abused to fit to his needs.

Silently, Ruby placed a finger on her lips. Weiss was perplexed, but complied with gesture. Lightly she padded towards the window, there was one of Junior's men directly below.

He was also within earshot of anything said in the room. Ruby knew that he would be listening in more carefully now that Roman's name was mentioned.

Just as quietly, she went back to her previous position near the bed. "Master Schnee, I assure you it's because I was lost in thought and you took me by surprise. Master Torchwick has always been amicable and good to me. I have my own quarters in the compound and I have the best entitlements out of his gladiators." The lie burned on Ruby's tongue and the face she made matched her true feelings on the matter.

Weiss was bewildered, "Wha-"

Immediately Ruby captured Weiss' lips into her own. The kiss was feverish and hurried, but despite how brash the execution, Weiss simply melted into those strong arms. What more, the Gladiator refused to let up, that talented tongue of hers going to work once more. The Merchant felt like a virgin in comparison during that kiss.

The Gladiator broke away, but her lips left a trail of kisses and small nips along the Merchant's neck. From memory, she placed them in the exact places that Weiss was sensitive in – eliciting such a lewd noise that was simply music.

"This isn't the best time to be talking." The whisper was faint, but Weiss caught it – right as she felt that damned tongue lick the spot right behind her ear. She felt her back arch as she stifled a low moan. "Especially not now, he has ears everywhere." Another whisper.

Finally it clicked in the Weiss' head, she silently nodded at Ruby's cue.

'So does that mean that something did happen?' Weiss thought to herself, she struggled to steady her breathing from the exchange earlier.

"Would you allow me to undress?" A look of mirth danced in those silver eyes.

Weiss nearly rolled her eyes at the question, "Yes, you may undress."

Ruby stood, but a rustle at the door got her attention. Quickly she creaked the door open and saw that Octavia had returned with a filled water cask.

"Octavia." Ruby whispered low, the house slave stopped and turned heel towards the Gladiator.

"What is it?" Octavia was curious, Ruby had never done this before.

"I need you to distract the guard outside my window for a bit."

"What?" She was bewildered, but kept her voice low still, "Why?"

"I'll tell you later, please. I need this favor." Ruby pushed once more.

The house slave sighed as she nodded her head to agree to the request. Ruby gave a thankful smile as Octavia walked off to the downstairs area.

"Someone brought some water for you, Master Schnee." Ruby set the cask aside next to the wine.

"Do you need help undressing?" Weiss asked as she watched Ruby begin to remove her ornate sword and belt.

Ruby shook her head, "I wouldn't want to subject you to such menial tasks, Master Schnee, please allow me to service your every need." The decorated vambraces followed.

"I really do like the cape, Roman has a nice touch with his décor." Weiss played along for the time being.

The Gladiator gave a coy smile, she was glad Weiss was a sharp one, "Coco Adele and Velvet Scarlatina designed everything."

"Coco did make mention of that once." The Merchant continued on, "I wonder how I would look in it?"

"Would you like to try it on?"

"I would like to try on _just_ the cape."

The metal vambraces made a loud noise as Ruby fumbled it to the floor, the mental image that was carved in her mind obvious to the Merchant before her.

"I-If you so wish." The Gladiator cleared her throat as she removed the chest piece.

As Ruby was bending over to undo the straps of her boots, she heard Octavia's voice outside below.

"Sir, I think I saw something suspicious across the courtyard by the gate." There was a sense of urgency in her tone.

The guard sighed, "It might be another punk trying to sneak into the party." His heavy footsteps could be heard across the gravel, "It won't take long. Go back to attending your duties."

"Thank you, sir." Octavia quickly rushed off back inside the Villa before the Guard could question her on what she thought she saw – because it was absolutely nothing at all.

Ruby quickly peaked out the window to ensure the coast was clear.

"You mustn't show weakness in front of Torchwick, ever." Ruby was quick to the point. Weiss thought back to the first time she was warned about Torchwick, Pyrrha's words came echoing back to her. "You mustn't show that you care for me."

Weiss was about to say something more, but Ruby cut her off.

"I know, you truly care for me, and that makes me happy – so happy. You are genuinely one of the best things that have happened to me in so long. But you can't let them know, Torchwick will swallow you whole if he were to find out, and I think you have much at stake with your company here in Mistral." They were hasty words as nervous eyes darted back outside.

Weiss was taken back in both a good and bad way, "But you slept with another noble and what of last time?"

"We were truly alone last time, he doesn't post as many guards during a regular day. And the other nobles simply _fuck._ There are few flighty words exchanged here and there, but it's all hot air – do you understand? You paid Roman so that I can give you service." She looked back out, the guard was coming back with an annoyed look on his face as there was nothing there.

Weiss Schnee held a defiant look, she had one more question that burned, "Did... Did he do something to you?"

"Damned house slave probably saw an animal and got spooked." He spat as he took up his post once more. Ruby simply nodded her head - unable to speak further of whatever monstrosities that lay below the surface of Roman Torchwick.

Weiss nodded her head as she heard the guard, "Don't forget your boots, and pour me some wine." She commanded, she would need the wine to calm down. She breathed in deep, upset at the situation before her.

"Yes, Master Schnee." Ruby stood and grabbed a cup to fill with the sweet wine, she handed the cup to Weiss with a gentle smile, her hand lingered over the Merchant's for a few comforting moments. There was a gentle expression on her face - _I'll be fine._ "Please, take a seat, Master Schnee."

Weiss huffed a bit, but complied as she understood what was at stake. She began to sip her wine as she crossed her legs, her robes shifted as she did so.

Silver eyes ran it's course over those dainty legs, the kiss earlier was still fresh on her mind because now she suddenly craved the sweet mint that was the Schnee. Weiss didn't miss that hungry expression, with a small smile she supposed that she should go ahead and get what she paid Roman for.

"Remove my sandals." The next command - Ruby caught the playful smirk on Weiss.

"Yes, Master Schnee." The Gladiator moved elegantly, she didn't just work the straps off – instead her hands travelled down legs, her touch leaving a trail of fire behind before unfastening the straps. The mop of dark hair dipped low and Weiss could feel a gentle kiss being planted first on the inside of her calf and once more at her ankle.

The painstakingly slow process repeated itself on her other leg, Weiss bit her lip as she felt those hands snake up her thigh. A line of kisses were being worked up the inside of her thigh, those lips getting incrementally closer to where her robes parted.

With her foot, she pushed the Gladiator back on to the floor. Ruby was confused before she felt the Merchant's weight straddle her on the floor. Weiss sipped from the cup of wine and then offered some to the Gladiator. Ruby gladly took the cup and gulped down the rest of the contents.

As Ruby set aside the cup, she felt those small hands at the bottom of her tunic – greedily they pulled the material up and over her head. Not a second was wasted and those delicious lips went to work, kissing the nearest scar she found and then moving on to the next one. The infamous Reaper had to bite back a moan, but a bit was still heard as she felt those lips form into a smile. Then they were at the base of her neck, nipping and sucking at the skin there.

The Merchant bit down harder into the supple flesh as she felt Ruby's hands move to her robes, undoing the ties and strings that held her fine clothe in place. Those practiced hands stopped momentarily as their owner had to register the sensation before continuing the task of undoing her Master's wardrobe.

Ruby could feel the silk derrière of Weiss, she smiled as she heard a slight whimper when she ran her hands over the delicate skin. With both hands firm on the tight ass of the Merchant, Ruby stood to her full height with Weiss' legs still around her.

It was ethereal to see those robes fall off of her body like a waterfall as they gave way to the Goddess like form that is Weiss Schnee.

"You better take those off." Her hot breath tickled the Gladiator's ears, the greedy hands were once again at her waist as they pulled at her trousers. Ruby laid down the object of her desires on the silk bedding, she immediately began to work her way out of the one thing that was stopping her. Weiss bit her cheek as she looked into those steel eyes that burned bright as if they were in a forge. She teased the fighter more as she worked her way further up the bed and away from the literal predator. Ruby watched intently as she finally stood in the buff, she watched as the Merchant bit down on her bottom lip as she drank in the sight of the Gladiator.

And Ruby did the same to Weiss – she tried to burn the image of this Altesian elite with skin like fine marble and her eyes that twinkled brighter than any jewel she has seen before while she was wrapped up in the fine silk that surrounded her. She started at those lips, then down her naval, and finally to the tuff of white hair just above her sex.

She crawled on all fours up the bed, only for once again to feel that damn foot stop her in her tracks. Impatient eyes looked up into playful ones, Weiss bit on her finger as she drank in the _look_ on Ruby's face. She narrowed her eyes as she grabbed the delicate foot; experimentally she placed a kiss at the pad of it.

Weiss nearly squeaked because she was extremely ticklish there.

Ruby smiled deviously as she licked the pad of her foot. Weiss squirmed and her cheeks were flush, "St-stop… that's dirty." Her voice was shy and Ruby simply laughed at the matter as she worked her way on top of the Altesian.

The two met once more for a passionate kiss.

Unexpectedly, Ruby felt her self being flipped around – she was a bit confused as those diamond orbs turned into a predator like gaze. "Behave." Her voice was dipped in honey and the Gladiator shivered at the command. Weiss planted one more kiss on Ruby's now swollen lips. She straddled Ruby in a reverse position, placing her sex directly over the fighter's face. Ruby was amazed at how simply _wet_ the Merchant was.

She didn't have much time to look as she felt Weiss' own hot tongue directly on her sex. Ruby squirmed at first; unfamiliar to the sensation as it was always her giving service. Every now and again she would get a lazy finger… unless it was Lady Cinder that was in bed.

But Weiss was different than her in so many ways – it was just better all around.

Ruby gripped those creamy thighs that were on either side of her as she breathed in deep at whatever _pattern_ Weiss had just done. She felt the Merchant twitch above her as she exhaled the deep breath. She noticed the glistening of her partner's sex – it was growing and soon thin lines seem to leak down the inside of her thighs.

She was getting so turned on with Ruby's own pleasure, and now her poor cunt was begging for the same attention.

Which Ruby complied with as she buried herself into the sweet juice that was above her. She felt her Master's legs buckle above her, but gave them a reassuring squeeze that she was there to support her. Feverishly, the fighter lapped at the juices, trying to remember which spot made what sweet sound come out of the Altesian. From the way Weiss' chest heaved, Ruby could tell she was getting close to the edge as she continued her ministrations – not that Ruby wasn't better off herself as that edge was coming closer and closer for her.

That's when she felt those delicate fingers _inside_ of her, the Gladiator moaned and proceeded to do the same to the Merchant who was now being held up at the waist by one of the fighter's hands.

Strangled moans filled the room, before Weiss broke away first as she felt her orgasm dangerously close. But she was determined to show Ruby a good time too as she dutifully saw things through.

Weiss felt that strong hand grip her waist as the body beneath began to convulse violently, her dear Gladiator let out a low moan that sounded like a whimper. With a deep breathe; she finally let her self go as the euphoric wave washed over her. Unlike her partner, Weiss was unable to contain herself and Ruby smiled through her heavy breathing at the sweet sound that pierced through the night.

Ruby took what was left of her strength and hauled herself over to the bundle of white that was an orgasmic mess.

Those small hands shot out to grab a hold of the fighter's face and the two exchanged a sweet kiss, tasting each other on their tongues. Ruby moaned into the kiss – the euphoria, the high, the _freedom_ she felt when she was with Weiss was unlike anything else she experienced. Once again, the euphoria she felt and used to escape while in the Arena simply _paled_ in comparison.

Ruby Rose was addicted and she wanted more of what ever Weiss Schnee had to give.

"That was simply amazing." Ruby let out breathlessly as she saw a look on her partner's face. "What's wrong?"

Weiss turned away shyly and mumbled something into the sheets. Ruby didn't quiet get it, "What did you say?"

Cautiously, Weiss turned to face the Gladiator, "I… want more." Her already flushed cheeks turned even redder.

A toothy grin grew on Ruby's face, "Yes, _Master Schnee._ "

* * *

Cinder Fall smirked into the cup of wine she drank as she looked at the scene before her. The usual slaves that would attend to them were dismissed for the night and kept away in their cells for the night at Mercury's insistence.

Her mother Salem was situated at the head of the table and across from her daughter. Emerald sat on one side of the table as she dug into the perfectly cooked lamb that was the main course for that night.

On the opposite side of Emerald sat Mercury, his collar forgone – which wasn't anything out of the ordinary. He excelled at what he did and he did it better from the perception that he was a 'slave' of the sorts.

And tonight it was paying off in dividends as her mother wore a coy smile while they all listened in on the juicy story the Fall gladiator had dug up.

"And as I mentioned before, be wary of what's said around the slaves... they're everywhere." Mercury Black stressed the last part. "The Faunus hasn't told me yet of who he has infiltrated within the nobility - but from what I gather the Fall Villa is safe. We haven't gotten any new slaves the past yet which is when this plan was set into motion."

Cinder turned her attention to the man, "You sure you're not compromised?"

"I've always been careful of whose around, the only time I ever take this blasted thing off is when there's none of the other slaves around. If anything, I'm just seen as your favorite - which makes sense because I am supposed to be the Fall Champion." Mercury leaned back in his chair, he was considered a formidable force in the Arena, he has trumped man, Grimm, and beast alike. And for the more difficult opponents... well it helped that the Fall family ran the Coliseum, Cinder would see to it that Mercury would always have the advantage - whether it be by way of discretely stabbing a slave in the side before he walked into the sands or throwing poison into the water they drank.

"It would seem an opportunity has presented itself." Salem had an air of authority about her as everyone in the room immediately focused their attention on her. "Wonderful job as always, my dear Mercury. It seems Cinder has fine taste in looking for good _help."_

"It's always a privilege to serve under the Fall name, Mistress Salem." Mercury bowed his head towards the King's Councilman.

Salem dabbed her lips with the fine clothe in her lap after finishing off her wine, "With that I'll take my leave, I have a meeting with the King in the morning and I would prefer to rest in my chambers at the castle for the night." The Fall matriarch hardly stayed in the Villa now a days, but it wasn't a loss since life in the castle was far more enjoyable than in the Fall Villa.

"Have a good evening then, Mother." Cinder rose from her chair to see Salem off.

"And you as well, my dear." She smiled at her daughter, "And be sure to reward our dear Mercury appropriately for a job well done."

"It would be my _pleasure."_

Once Salem left the dining room, Mercury grew the biggest smile on his face, he immediately understood the implications behind what his _Master_ had said.

* * *

A/N:

So I made more progress than I thought I would this week, all I had to do was procrastinate my 'adult responsibilities'.

I don't know about the rest of you, but I am absolutely excited for the next chapter (I'll give you a hint - it's the fight we've all been yearning to see in the actual RWBY series... Well, the fight I've always wanted to see: Pyrrha vs. Ruby). Speaking of the RWBY series, I finally got around to watching the Volume 5 teaser, I think I gave my room mate a freight when I started yelling out of excitement. October needs to hurry up and get here already.

I did toy with the idea of pushing Ruby _a little bit further_ when it comes to the 'caged animal', but I'm a romantic (that loves to write shameless fluff) too and I liked the idea of Weiss coming in to save Ruby. Oh Blake, whatever are you scheming? I will confess that I have been craving to do a proper Bumblebee AU Fic - something with lots of guns, cars, gangsters, and lots of fluff. But I also like the idea of alter-ego super hero by night and just-an-average-girl-with-average-knees and a banging-sister-named-Yang by day with all of my favorite (and probably over-played) cliches and tropes.

You'll have to excuse my ramblings, I had a fifth of rye that _needed_ to be finished by the end of today - I finished it and it was fantastic.

You, the readers, make so much possible with your continued support of not just this story, but all the stories out there on this site. From my perspective, the hard part isn't starting a story - it's finishing it. The longer the story goes on the more daunting each chapter becomes to write it, you become so nit-picky as you look back at the jenga tower that's the plot and hope it some how sticks together well enough to stack next piece at the top. This is where the you guys come in, boisterously chanting and yelling "Jenga, Jenga, Jenga!" in the background while the author keeps meticulously stacking the next couple of blocks on top.

Hopefully my jenga tower doesn't fall before I'm satisfied.

I hope you enjoyed this addition of Gladiator and wish to see a lot of you in the next one.

Cheers,

DevilRed


	9. Champion

Emerald eyes that had seen more than his fair share of life and loss through out the years looked at his daughter who sat across from him in their Villa's parlor. The prized Nikos heirloom, her famous red sword, was resting against the couch she sat on. The Shield of Vale himself sat in another chair, mindful of his still healing back.

Commander Atreus Nikos, the People's Councilman, wasn't disappointed in his daughter because he understood why she did what she did when she agreed to whatever Torchwick had wagered so that her friend could get some closure. Jaune Arc was still recovering from his wounds, but claimed he would stick around until after Pyrrha's fight before going back to Vale to further facilitate the prisoner release.

"The King will be in attendance as well." He delivered the news, the match was to take place in a week's time. "Are you sure you will be fine in there? With King Lionheart in attendance your life is out of mine as well as Torchwick's hands." Atreus was planning on meeting with Torchwick on good faith about the upcoming match – and to set up insurance should things go south. But it was useless now.

The famed fighter nodded her head, "Father, I will be fine in there." She held a determine gaze, "What gives me an edge is the fact that I have been _watching_ and _learning_ the Reaper's fighting style."

Jaune sighed as he buried his face in his hands, "It's my fault I got us-"

"Hold your tongue," Atreus shot back to the Valesian Commander, "You followed through on what you wanted and now you have to follow through on what is now a consequence of it. Like how my own daughter is." He narrowed his eyes at the former enemy, but let it go as he remembered the shape that Jaune was in when he returned to their Villa.

Jaune sighed, "Allow me to pay the fees to the Fall family for her entry in the Arena, please." He held a determine gaze.

Atreus bit his cheek, "I'll allow it." He stood suddenly which caused Jaune to flinch slightly in his seat, "Come now, let us spar so that I may have some peace of mind on your form." He motioned for his daughter to come outside into the courtyard.

* * *

"Your form is back." Nadir grinned as he tossed the practice sword off to the side, he grabbed the wooden ladle from the water barrel and took a large gulp of water. The ladle was handed to his practice partner.

Ruby gladly took the handle as she refilled the contents and quenched her own thirst, "What do you mean it's back? I don't think it ever changed." She was a bit perplexed at the statement.

"The last few weeks of you fighting has been vicious, you fought like a caged animal – you can't tell me for certain that you didn't sense a change too. Especially when you fought against Commander Arc. I've never seen you so ruthless before." The Wilding raised a brow at the younger Gladiator.

Ruby sighed, "I… I did, I don't know why, but I just got such a _high_ while fighting and I just felt so _good_ and so _free."_ She reflected on a few of those matches, there was one or two opponents in there that she absolutely decimated in the most grotesque matter.

Steady eyes looked over the smaller Gladiator, "I noticed you calmed down significantly after… Lady Schnee paid a visit." A knowing grin was plastered on his face as he kept his voice low.

Ruby's face grew bright red at the mention of last week's party, "N-Not that you were better off… I believe it was nine _young and beautiful_ women that you and Sun had to _attend_ to."

The Wilding huffed, "I could give you the details if you're so anxious to bring it up, Sun and I ended up double teaming the birthday girl. She had this peculiar spot inside her-" A ladle of water was tossed in his face.

"Sh-Shut up, I get it." The tips of her ears had turned completely red.

Nadir chuckled to himself as he used his discarded tunic to wipe off the excess water.

Ruby was back to normal. Or as close to normal as you could get with all things considered. If there was ever an opportunity, Nadir made a mental note to thank the Schnee Merchant for what ever she had done for the Gladiator.

The two snapped their attention as they heard the distinct tread that belonged to the slaver. Neo looked down at their practice swords in the way side and motioned for them to go another around.

"At once, Lady Neo." They both bowed their heads as they quickly shuffled to their practice area.

The slaver looked up at the Master who stood from the second floor balcony as he over saw the training, there was a lot riding on the Reaper in the upcoming match. He received word from Cinder that the King was going to be in attendance of what the Kingdom was calling "The Match of the Century".

It was both a love-hate thing for Roman whenever the King was around, on several occasion the King had even _freed victorious_ Gladiators that performed exceptionally well in the Arena. But it was thanks to Roman's gladiators that the Torchwick name was held in such high regard amongst the high nobility, it helped that the King was a fan of Gladiator battles and it boded well for Roman that he raised the best around.

However, King Lionheart was a wildcard that Roman had no control over, if the King wanted a slave free, it was done.

So he decided to go all in on Red for what is probably the last time.

The slave master made a face, despite all that trouble he had gone through, Ruby Rose is so much closer to freedom than she thought.

He seethed once more at the thought of him losing yet another cash cow Gladiator.

"Neo!" Roman called out, he knew just what he needed during this bout of anger and tension, "I would like to have a word."

The slaver's unique eye colors flashed back and forth as she blink rapidly, she nodded her head in affirmation while she watched Roman stalk off the balcony. A coy grin worked it's way on her face as she waved at the slaves to continue their training.

It was never a _word_ that Roman wanted to have from her, it was rather a _thing_ that she had more than generously provided during the course of their relationship as Slave Master and Slaver.

Neo licked her lips in anticipation as she sauntered up the stairs of the Villa.

* * *

She couldn't sleep.

Most of the night she spent tossing and turning, which was unusual since Ruby had never once lost sleep the night before a match, it was the exact opposite as she wanted her senses and body to be in top shape for the fight. But this one, she just couldn't sleep.

It was probably the stories that she heard from Nadir – Pyrrha Nikos was undefeated in the Arena and had bested Bolin Hori during a match. She was untouchable in a fight, they say that no one has ever seen her bleed.

And Ruby believed it from the few times that she had seen the Mistrali Commander in person, there wasn't a single scar on her body – a stark contrast in comparison to Ruby. Her body was like a tapestry and all of her different battles and fights had left different stories woven into it.

'It feels like I'm up against an impossible opponent tomorrow.' Ruby got out of bed after deciding it was useless to try to keep sleeping. She was grateful for the few luxuries that she had as one of Roman's best since she was able to wander around the open courtyard. Unlike most the other gladiators and prospects, they were kept under lock and key at night. Prospects having to share cells with half a dozen others while the gladiators were allowed their own cell.

She took note of the two guards that stood their ground by the gate and she merely exchanged a silent look with them. As long as she didn't do anything stupid (like run away) the guards would leave her be. She sat underneath a tree in the corner that was used greedily for it's shade in the spring and summer months when they trained. For now she wanted to listen to the rustle of the trees as she leaned her head back on the bark.

How many times had she done this as a child?

In the orphanage she would often have nightmares about the fires, so much to the point that she began to feel claustrophobic upon waking up. It became a habit of hers to sneak out in the middle of the night and go stargazing while perched on a tree branch to get a better view of the sky.

Of course here, she couldn't do that because the moment she would start climbing this tree the guards would be all over her and her pleasant midnight stroll would be ruined.

She looked up at the sky, it was a little warm for a mid-autumn night and Ruby appreciated the gentle breeze that wasn't too cold. Then again, Mistral was always warm – at least in comparison to Vale during this time of year.

She didn't recognize a lot of the constellations in the sky, probably because she never learned to tell them apart on this side of Remnant. She made an excellent Scout during her time in the Army. Never got lost and was always the first to find something.

She remembered the time when Ren couldn't find Nora for the life of him and was on the verge of giving up before Ruby offered to lend a hand. Within minutes they found her holed away in-between a rock and a cliff side, she was stuck. Ren and Ruby laughed for a good 5 minutes at the orange-haired scout who whined for them to hurry up.

The Valkyrie slipped into the crevice while trying to find a nice place to hide from Ren. Nora loved doing that from time to time, playing childish games while they were out in the field. And the two didn't mind it as it made the days less dull while the waited around for a scouting assignment.

" _Who would like to volunteer for this first assignment?" Commander Port was frank to his troops of 3_ _rd_ _Battalion where all of the light cavalry and scouting outfits were organized under. 3rd Battalion was very small in comparison to the rest of the 127th, but that was mostly due to the nature of their purpose. Usually the Commander would simply let his junior officers dole out the assignments, but this one was different and important as well._

 _There were hushed murmurs as the scouts were unsure of the assignment; usually it didn't take this much to get people to go on a scouting assignment. The soldiers of 3rd Battalion took pride in their job - which was to forge ahead of the main unit of the 127th and find the enemy._

 _Part of the issue was due to the fact that the entire 127_ _th_ _Brigade was the first unit to step foot on the Mistral waters during the war. And the Mistrali enemy had a reputation of fierce fighters who rarely showed mercy to captured soldiers._

 _From Seeker Company a small soldier stood, silver eyes determined to answer the Commander's request. "I'll go."_

" _Who is that?" The Commander questioned as he tried to jog his memory to see if he remembered this one, she was vaguely familiar, but alas Port never really interacted with scouts and light cavalry as often as he did with the troops that made up the main fighting force._

" _Corporal Ruby Rose of Seeker Company." She answered back, she gave a crisp salute to the officer, Port returned it with as much enthusiasm._

" _We need you to go ahead of the main body and see if you can call out an enemy positions within 10 miles of where we landed." He double checked the map, eventually they would have to secure enough land mass for the rest of 2_ _nd_ _Division to get here, for now it was just the 127_ _th_ _Brigade out here alone and unafraid._

" _Yes, sir!"_

" _We'll come with you." Nora whispered under her breathe to her friend. Ren nodded his head in affirmation._

 _Ruby was glad that she had Ren and Nora to watch her back._

'It seems like a different life time now.' Ruby was melancholic as she vaguely recognized a constellation in the sky.

She closed her eyes once more, this time the wind carried her off to sleep.

* * *

The armor gleamed a deep gold and bronze mix, her chest plate was secured as she double-checked the vambraces before moving down to the armor she wore on her legs. The weight was too familiar and she smiled to herself when she saw that everything was on properly. Here and there were a few nicks and dings she had picked up over the years from the constant battles during the war and from during her time as a Gladiator. Finally, she grabbed the gold head piece that she always wore into battle and placed it upon her temple.

Pyrrha Nikos looked every bit like a true Mistrali Commander as she stood tall in her armor.

On the stand before her stood the famous sword and shield that was passed down to the different generations of her family.

Milo and Akouo, the respective names of Pyrrha Nikos' sword and shield. She hooked the red blade onto her back and then the shield right on top of it. Normally she would go around town with just Milo at her side, only into battle would she carry Akouo.

"How do I look?" Pyrrha asked as she stepped out into the Villa's parlor, her father and Jaune were waiting for her.

"Like a warrior." Jaune let out first.

"A champion." Atreus corrected with smiled as he was confident in his daughter after the week of swordplay and training they had gone through. "It's time to show the Kingdom what a true Gladiator looks like."

Pyrrha breathed in deep to help contain the sigh.

There were few times where she would be nervous before stepping into the Arena, and this happened to be one of them.

Meanwhile at the Torchwick Villa, Neo tossed the plain sword and shield that Ruby always used in the Arena into the cart. Ruby then tossed into the back the armor that she would always wear, she would usually put it on right before her fight. With an effortless leap, she made it into the back of the cart. Neo motioned to the Guards to open the gate.

Ruby yawned as she stretched her back out, she scratched the skin underneath her collar a bit to get some sweet relief from the itching sensation she had all morning.

"Wait!" Roman called out from the first floor patio, he was still adorning his sleeping robes. Melanie followed behind him, Ruby raised a brow at the scene while Neo simply rolled her eyes.

Roman Torchwick was insatiable.

"You're not going in that get up." The slave master instructed, "Melanie is going to get your good trousers and tunic that you wear for special occasions. You're going to where your wolf armor into there today."

Neo was perplexed, Roman specifically instructed the Core Four to never wear their ornate armor into the Arena because they were expensive and most importantly top quality metal that would be difficult to repair should they get ruined. He spared no expense when it came to parading his Core Four at his lavish parties.

Torchwick picked up the questioning look on the slaver's face, "The King will be in attendance and I want Red looking just as good as her opponent."

Ruby nodded as she got out of the cart and followed Melanie down into the dressing chambers below. This would be her first time seeing the King, she heard from Bolin about the leader of Mistral a long time - he had to fight in front of him once when it was Pyrrha as his opponent. She shrugged at the thought, it made sense since Pyrrha was her opponent for today.

In half an hour Ruby emerged in her garb. The black trousers were tucked into the black leather boots, her tunic was in great repair and had a blood red color to it. The black and red accented metal chest piece with the wolf head on it was polished by Melanie before Ruby had thrown it on and the rose design on both her shoulders shone brilliantly in the morning moonlight. She touched both her black metal vambraces one more time to make sure they were snug.

Roman looked over the Gladiator and liked the appearance, he held a Gladius in hand that had a black handle to it and the metal looked new and the edge of the sword glinted like diamond. Neo held out a dark shield with a silver lining around it for Ruby to take.

The gladiator dutifully took the new gladius and shield, the armor she wore allowed her to strap the shield on her back and she hooked the gladius on to her right side. The garb was a little bit heavier than usual, but it wasn't going to impede her. Ruby was already used to wearing the armor from the demonstrations she had done before during parties.

"Your regular sword and shield isn't going to hold well against Lady Nikos' Milo and Akouo, the steel used to create those weapons are said to be the strongest in all of Remnant. These are from my family's personal armory." Roman's green eyes looked over the sword and shield, "My grandfather was said to have won it off of a legendary smith from Atlas, they have never seen combat until now. So do me a favor and do not let my family's name go in vain." He seethed the last part.

"Yes, Master Torchwick." Ruby bowed her head.

"You'll win so many hearts today with that look." Roman smiled at his handiwork once more, "Go now, Neo. I'll meet you in the stands in a bit."

The slaver nodded her head as she motioned for the cart driver to go.

For the first time in a long time, Ruby felt like she was going to war.

The cart ride was one of the few things Ruby enjoyed about going into the Arena, she was able to leave the Villa and have a look at the Kingdom outside of it. The cobble street twisted as they went deeper into the city. The stone and marble houses were becoming closer and closer together as they got to the heart of the city which is where the Great Stone Coliseum was located.

The different smells of the city enveloped her, the savory taste of freshly cooked mutton in her mouth, the crisp smell of fresh fruit being sold, and then her personal favorite were the sweet confections that would be baking in random shops along the road.

She would give almost anything for a fucking cookie.

As they got closer to the coliseum, a slew of voices from the crowd would call out with whistles and praise as random strangers would call her namesake.

"Reaper!"

"Look there she goes! That's the Reaper!"

"I hope Commander Nikos kills you!"

"Don't die without putting up a good fight!"

"Show Nikos that you mean business!"

Ruby kept an indifferent face at the mixed bag of comments.

The cart came to a halt and Ruby landed on her feet easily. The guards of the coliseum opened up the iron gate for the slave to go through.

"Ruby!" The familiar tanned face and brown eyes were easy for the Gladiator to spot in the crowd.

Ruby stopped for a moment to wave to Bolin Hori, but was shoved along by one of the guards to keep moving.

"I'll be watching today!" Bolin called after, he watched as the armor-clad gladiator walked into those dark tunnels.

"She looked pretty good in that get up." The girl on his side commented, her turquois hair danced in the wind and hugged her garments closer to her body at the slight chill.

"That's the ornate armor I mentioned before." Bolin explained, "Usually we're not supposed to wear it into the Arena because it's made out of high quality metal and Roman likes for it to look pristine during his occasions."

"Why is she wearing it today?" Reese Chloris asked as she followed her childhood friend into the civilian entrance of the Coliseum.

Bolin shrugged, "It's probably because of the King." It was before Roman made the special order for their armor, he remembered Roman fussing with his appearance and had the best armor pieces on hand given to him for his own match against the same Pyrrha Nikos all those years ago.

"So what did your armor look like?" Reese was curious, Ruby looked absolutely dashing in hers so she wondered what Bolin looked like.

"I had the black boots and trousers that Ruby had on, but my chest piece was dark gold and there was some ornate design on it, I think it might have been a dragon or a snake, I can't remember." Bolin recalled as the two strolled into the Arena, he felt his heart beat increase as he walked into the corridors.

This was his first time back in the Arena since his release.

Reese gave a comforting squeeze of his hand, "I'm right here." She sensed his uneasiness.

The former gladiator smiled tenderly at his childhood friend, "Thank you." Bolin Hori couldn't have asked for a better reward for surviving his time under Torchwick.

* * *

To say the Coliseum was packed would be an understatement.

The marble stands were sectioned off for the first time in a while, the only ones allowed were the high nobility and of course King Lionheart himself.

Weiss Schnee had to settle for the lower seats around the marble stands, usually any commoner could sit there, but today the lower seats were sectioned off for the rest of the nobles who couldn't sit in the marble stands. Klein was with Weiss for once in the Arena, usually he would pass up the offer to go as he didn't have an image to uphold with the rest of the Mistrali nobles who absolutely enjoyed the sport.

"Weiss!" A familiar voice called out, it was Coco and Velvet who were fast approaching her.

The Merchant smiled at her two friends and motioned for them to come sit closer to her.

"Isn't this wild? I haven't seen the Coliseum this full ever." Velvet commented as she readjusted her robes into a more comfortable position.

"And it's only going to be one fight today too." Coco whistled low, "It seems like the whole Kingdom is packed in here today."

"I suppose it's not every day that you get to watch Pyrrha fight." Weiss let out.

Velvet nodded her head, "It's not just Pyrrha, everyone is crazy to see how it's going to be with the Reaper. For the past two weeks that's all I've heard anyone talk about – 'The Champion of Mistral vs. The Champion of the Arena! The fight of the century!'" The Faunus put on her best announcer voice which got a giggle out of her two companions.

"Room for two more?" Yatsuhashi and Fox stood over the group.

"Yes, I have some room right here." Klein called to the two.

"Thank you, Klein. Sorry if you're a bit cramped now." Fox thanked.

The man smiled, "It's alright, it's only for one match so it won't be so unbearable."

"Good point, otherwise I'm sure half this stadium would have left by now." Yatsuhashi observed as he too was amazed by the sheer volume of people.

"Do you guys think it's a record for having this many people in here?" Weiss too was curious if there was an event the past much like this one.

"Good chance, I've been coming to the Arena since I was kid and I've never seen it this packed." Fox commented as his friend nodded in agreement.

Ruby Rose couldn't even hear herself think in the underground passageway, the walls and passageways simply boomed with incoherent noise.

In the time waiting, she practiced waving the sword and shield around just to make sure she had a good sense of balance for the weapons. They weren't so drastically different from what she usually used, but she could tell that they were a lot sturdier.

'I could probably even cut through most normal armor with this.' She swung the gladius a few more times just to be sure she had a good feel.

"Reaper!" A guard approached her cell and unlocked it, "It's time."

Ruby nodded her head and hooked the sword back onto her belt, she grabbed the shield and slung it on her back.

Despite the fact that each step was bringing her closer to the mouth of the Arena, she felt it become strangely quiet. Her mind was beginning to shut out the noise and the adrenaline was beginning to course through her veins. A cold sweat dripped down her temple, but she paid no mind. She had probably walked through this opening hundreds of times before and each time she would come walking right back out one piece.

'This time should be no different.' Ruby breathed in deep as she finally stepped into the sunlight.

Weiss Schnee smiled at the sight in front of her, Ruby Rose was adorned in her best armor and clothes that flattered her in the best way possible.

"Probably one of my most favorite designs I've ever done." Coco smiled at her handiwork.

"She looks like a pristine Officer in that get up." Velvet complimented.

"It is with great honor that I introduce to Your Highness, Champion of the Arena and Gladiator of House Torchwick – The Reaper!" Roman stood in his most elegant robes of white and red as he bowed to the King. Surrounding Roman were the high nobility, the King's Councilman and their family members, and of course Neo who stood to his right.

The Councilman of the Scholars, Bartholomew Oobleck looked the most indifferent of the three as it was obvious he came due to the King himself being in the Arena. Oobleck's opinion of the Arena was an unpopular one that he had learned to keep to himself.

The Councilman of the King, Salem Fall, sat on the King's right hand side and showed some slight amusement for today's festivities. With her was her daughter Cinder and her two usual escorts of Emerald and Mercury. Mercury was the only slave in the marble stands.

King Lionheart was dressed in Mistral's signature deep red robes mixed in with some black. He was easily twice the size of Roman and looked to be able to hold his own in the Arena should someone be foolish enough to raise a blade towards him. Deep onyx eyes looked the slave over and his gold crown sat upon a mane of dark auburn hair. With an approving nod, he motioned for his last Councilman to continue on.

The Councilman of the People, Atreus Nikos, was another formidable man to take note of. He was a man of high caliber since he stood at the same height of King Lionheart himself. His short red hair was kept neat like his beard as he motioned to the other end of the Coliseum.

Ruby had never heard the Arena _explode_ like it did once she walked out.

"I present to Your Highness my humble daughter and Champion of Mistral!" The crowd roared once more, "Commander Pyrrha Nikos!"

It was a first in a long time for the Reaper, she heard Pyrrha's name echo all over instead of her own.

'They are proud of their country, after all.' Ruby thought sheepishly.

"Now then - rise and salute our glorious King!" Atreus announced in a deep voice that simply vibrated through out the whole Arena.

Every citizen, slave, and foreigner rose and rendered the proper courtesy to the King.

However, mid-way through the salute, Jaune (who sat not too far from Weiss) and Pyrrha both exchanged a curious expression.

Before anymore could be thought of it, Atreus continued on, "By your will, Your Highness." He bowed to the King as the rest of the stadium sat down, King Lionheart stood slowly and he scanned his eyes over both the competitors.

"Today's match shall be for the honor and glory of our humble Kingdom of Mistral. Both of you will fight and conduct yourself in such a way to do our country proud." His majestic voice swept across the Arena. "And so, let this match – Begin!" He roared.

And with it the ground shook, and the whole Coliseum was practically up in arms.

Immediately both Gladiators drew sword and shield alike and began to size the other up. Careful footsteps were taken as the distance between the two began to shrink ever so slowly.

The Reaper was tense, ready to react at what ever movement the Mistrali Commander would make. Pyrrha remained light on the balls of her feet as she studied her opponent more carefully. With all those years of experience under her belt, Pyrrha could practically _smell_ how nervous the smaller Gladiator was before.

And the Reaper had every reason to be.

The Champion of Mistral was _fast_.

Bolin's eyes went wide at how quickly Pyrrha closed the distance, "She's gotten so much better." He knew that Ruby was going to have a tough time even before the fight, but now… he knew that his friend had some serious work cut out for her.

'Holy Dust.' Ruby barely dodged the deadly combination of shield and sword that Pyrrha had busted out the gates with. She was almost stabbed in the cheek by the famous red sword Milo, but she caught on to the trick at the last possible moment.

She spun around in time to meet Akouo with her own shield from Torchwick's personal armory. Upon impact, Ruby knew that if this were her regular fighting garb the shield wouldn't hold up long and she would possibly have a broken arm by now. The smaller fighter deflected the swing from Milo. Quickly, Ruby lashed out a low kick aimed for Pyrrha's knees.

But the Commander parried it and followed up with another thrust of her sword. She noticed the peculiar way the Reaper brought up her shield, and quickly Pyrrha figured out why the next second – her opponent was setting up for this well executed backward sword slash that was aimed for her neck.

Thankfully, Pyrrha had seen the Reaper do this trick once before during her previous bouts in the Arena. She quickly jumped backwards and the strike missed it's mark.

'Just like what me and Sun thought…' Ruby thought as she decided it was her turn to charge in, 'She knows my tricks… but it doesn't mean she can keep up with all of it.'

The flurry of Ruby's sword flashed before the audience, a wild cloud of dirt was picking up and it was obvious that Pyrrha was now on the defensive as she kept backing up. Silver eyes flashed at the opening, she knew Pyrrha had fallen for the sword feint and she saw her chance. Ruby threw as much of her body weight as she could behind the shield bash and smiled as she caught the Commander off balance.

The Reaper was quick to capitalize at the chance as the next thrust of her sword was aimed for the Commander's throat. Pyrrha had good reflexes because she brought over the edge of her shield to meet the edge of the blade, and instead the strike scrapped across her chest plate.

Ruby grit her teeth, but she had to admit that Pyrrha was talented indeed.

Once more, Pyrrha showed off her speed again, it was her turn for a lightning quick sword combination. Ruby bounced the blade off her shield as much as she could, quickly losing ground as the Commander continued the immense pressure on her. With some grit, Ruby stepped forward unexpectedly, and caught her into a sword lock with both of their shields simply pushing against each other. It was taking as much effort and strength on both sides to keep the intense lock as each fighter pushed as hard as they could to dominate the other.

Now it was the Champion of Mistral's turn to show some tricks.

Pyrrha twisted her wrist, and the next thing Ruby knew she saw the pointy end of Milo looking directly at her. At the last second, the Reaper arched her neck as far to the side as she could to avoid getting skewered. Once the dust settled, a long gash underneath the Reaper's eye could be seen and a stream of blood was coming down.

Ruby thanked Oum that she didn't lose her eye just then.

The Arena shook like thunder once more, Pyrrha's name rumbled throughout the stands. Roman gripped the arm of his lavish chair, he knew Pyrrha was tough – but he didn't expect her to be this tough.

'Faster… I have to be faster, that's the only way.' The slave breathed in deep and the mental image of the snake-like Grimm flashed within her mind's eye 'I have to be fast like a King Taijitu.' She recalled her few times fighting one in Vale's Forever Fall forest during a scouting mission, they weaved in and out so nimbly despite their size. She remembered that she had to out maneuver the Grimm in order to slay it.

The memory was fresh on Ruby's mind as she charged back into the fray. Her legs pumped and she stayed as light as possible on the balls of her feet as she danced around the Mistrali Commander. Pyrrha couldn't tell the difference between the attacks and the feints with how quickly the Reaper was moving.

She had never seen the Reaper use this style before.

Ruby smiled as she landed a strike on Pyrrha upper right arm, the strategy worked – but the slave's legs cried in exhaustion from having to keep up with such strenuous foot work. But she wouldn't let her opponent know she was getting tired, Ruby Rose kept a straight face as she stalked around Pyrrha, right outside of her striking zone.

The Reaper smiled low at the sight, 'Even Gods can bleed.'

Pyrrha made a move – but Ruby was faster as she beat her to the first strike in the new exchange. The slave gritted her teeth as her lungs screamed for air, but she pushed through because she knew that the moment she slowed down, Pyrrha would capitalize on it.

Unexpectedly, the handle of Milo came down on Ruby's upper thigh, the impacted muscle there began to spasm and the slave lost her balance, Ruby barely had time to register that she had hit the ground. Ruby already had her shield raised once Pyrrha moved in on the position. The next couple of sword blows Ruby still managed to block with her shield despite being flat on her back on the ground.

With a heavy grunt, the slave rolled to the side and simultaneously she kicked Pyrrha's feet out from underneath her.

Ruby quickly brought up her sword with the intent to drive it down on her opponent's stomach, but Pyrrha chose to give up her shield to catch the Reaper's sword arm mid strike. The slave was impressed by the Commander's prowess as she managed to hold her steady there despite the now reversed positions. Ruby spotted Pyrrha's sword arm come up for a strike, but before the Mistrail could begin the swing, Ruby let her body fall onto the Commander's elbow to prevent the swing. Ruby's shield came loose in the tussle as she struggled against the Mistrali.

With both weapons knocked out of the other's hand, they attempted to grapple the other. It was a battle of dominance in the gritty dirt as elbows and fists went flying and hands tried to strangle the other's neck. Sand was being kicked up every where, and both fighters had to struggle to keep their eyes open to watch and react to the other. Ruby proved to be the scrappier of the two, nothing was off limits as she attempted to bite, scratch, and even try to gouge the Mistrali Commander. The slave even knew her way around the few head lock's and body vices that Pyrrha tried to get her into.

Pyrrha had enough of it as she managed to lodge a solid kick into Ruby's stomach which sent her flying off of the Commander.

Ruby caught a glimpse of a sword handle and immediately picked it up, Pyrrha had done the same and in an instant two realized they were holding the other's sword. The slave remembered what Nadir told her about Milo, it was a proud Nikos family heirloom that was passed down and made from the highest quality steel in all of Remnant, something Roman Torchwick echoed earlier this morning as well.

Ruby looked down at the red blade, she could _feel_ the power emanating from the weapon - the long history of the Nikos family was right there in the palm of her hands.

The Coliseum hushed at what the Reaper did next.

Ruby flipped the blade so that Milo's handle was pointed towards it's rightful owner. Pyrrha blinked in confusion, she thought it was a strange feint at first, but smiled to herself as she noticed the gesture was genuine.

Silver eyes were clear as day, a whisper of a smile was present on the slave's face. Pyrrha Nikos saw that the Reaper respected her a great deal. She returned the favor as Pyrrha approached her opponent and the two exchanged swords.

The audience was confused at the exchange – but it only made them cheer louder once they realized what was going on.

"Classy move, Reaper!" Someone yelled.

Roman smiled to himself as he let out a breathe he didn't notice he was holding, the name Reaper began to ripple through the Arena. Atreus nodded his head in approval at the move and everyone watched as both opponents squared off against the other.

No shields this time, just swords.

Both Gladiators were breathless, the bout had lasted much longer than the other had anticipated and the tussle in the sand didn't help either.

Pyrrha moved first, albeit slower than before – but Ruby wasn't able to use it to her advantage as she wasn't better off herself. A blur of red and black and white sparks was all that was seen in the middle of it all.

On each fighter a new sword wound seemed to appear with every exchange.

It was turning into an endless cycle - run in, clash swords, try to avoid a lethal blow or two, and then break apart only to rush back in again for more.

The Reaper looked most in her element, all bloodied and bruised, something the audience was so used to seeing because they knew her to be a hardy one that didn't give up.

The Commander was a sight to see, it was the first time anyone had seen _the_ Pyrrha Nikos as torn and bloodied as she did now.

Ruby spit to the ground, it was a line of red since the inside of her cheek was cut up pretty bad. With a deep breathe she charged with all that she had left in her, Pyrrha had done the same as the two Gladiators met each other half way.

They locked swords, and both fighters knew that this was it – this was the decisive move. Pyrrha pressed hard as she had both hands on the handle of Milo. Ruby pressed back with one hand on the flat of the blade – her finger tips that touched the edge of the sword began to bleed but she refused to let up as she was desperately trying to over whelm her opponent.

Weiss Schnee gasped - the harsh sound of a blade snapping in half echoed across the eerily silent Arena.

On her knees was the Reaper while the Mistrali Commander held the edge of Milo against her throat – a slight cut had opened up from where Pyrrha pressed her blade.

Ruby Rose felt her heart drop – she had lost.

"It was an honor." She echoed the words she had heard once before, her mind unable to form any other sentence. The audience was silent, the slave's last words were clear for everyone to hear.

Eyes that burned like metal in the forge looked into the emerald jade that were to be her ultimate maker.

She took a deep breathe, closed her eyes, and thought back on it all.

The Arena – fighting so desperately at the whimsical command of her wretched Master.

The slaves – making some unlikely friends in the most damned of places.

The war with Mistral – she thought it to be pointless in the end, what did she get out of it now?

She thought back to Vale, the cottage she purchased and frantically wanted to back home to. To go back and simply think that her time in Mistral was just a bad dream. She thought back to Ren and Nora, absently walking around the Kingdom of green and high cliffs and beautiful coast lines that the Great Beacon tower over looked. Mrs. Peach with her fresh fruit that she would buy at least twice a week. Commander Port who had that bad habit of giving the troops terribly long speeches. Madame Weatherly who doted on Ruby when she first arrived at the orphanage, and soon began to chastise her for her childish whims of sneaking out and even stealing from the local food vendors when she was hungry.

Patch… what she could remember of Patch was a small island with large rolling hills and beautiful forests.

Yang, her older sister with a mane of blond and amethyst eyes that still haunted her to this day. Her older sister that she remembered chasing after in the woods and eating delicious strawberries together with.

Weiss… if only things were a bit different.

A single tear rolled down Ruby's cheek, but it was unseen beneath the dirt and blood that caked her face. She opened her eyes and looked directly at her maker once more.

Ruby could only hope that Pyrrha would give her a painless death.

 **"Live on Reaper! I give you the judgment of life!"**

But it was the King that would ultimately decide her fate.

* * *

"Fuck." Roman felt sick as he exited the Arena.

He. Bet. Everything. On. Red.

"Not looking too hot there, Roman." Cinder followed him into the alleyway that he ducked into.

A weak smile, "I know you know how much I lost just now because of that damned weakling." He gritted his teeth, "She should have kept that fucking sword Milo – she would have won!" He ran a nervous hand through his hair, the Torchwick name was done for – he was so sure that Red could do it.

And she would have! If she just wasn't so fucking dumb! She had Milo, the famed Nikos sword, at her disposal - but she chose instead to _give it back!_

"There, there my dear Roman." A new voice interrupted the two. "I have a proposition for you."

The slave master straightened up at the sight of the Salem Fall, "Mistress Fall, what brings you to this part of town."

"Relax, dear. I'm only here to help." Salem's smile grew, "I just need something from you in exchange."

Behind her stood Cinder's usual crew of Mercury and Emerald.

"Cheer up, pal. It's just the beginning of something new." Mercury quipped, his arms were crossed and the air about him was not like that of a slave at all.

Emerald chuckled, "He looked like he was going to hurl for a second there." Her eyes danced around the slave master as she was getting her kicks for the day.

Cinder chastised the two, "Hey now, Ro is a friend – so place nice with him you two." Her voice sultry, but underneath it laid something else that put him slightly on edge.

Roman Torchwick took a moment to regain his composure; he was heading into territory unknown.

* * *

The autumn sunset of Mistral was one of her favorite sights to watch. She was in love with the gentle colors that kissed they sky and would eventually make way for the velvet night. Watching the suns ray fade from such a strong fire into something soft and then finally closing it's eyes all together.

"Hey." The second voice interrupted her thoughts, Pyrrha smiled and motioned for Jaune to take a seat next to her.

The two were sitting on the roof of her Villa.

"Jaune…" The inside of her mouth was a bit sore, but she would survive. They had the best medic try to attend to Pyrrha first, but the Mistrali Commander grew cross as she demanded they check out her opponent first who sustained equally, if not a bit more damage.

"You wanna talk about what you saw too?" He was straight to the point, in a few days he was going to get on a boat back to Vale to help facilitate and bring to a close the prisoner exchange.

Pyrrha nodded, "That salute, I had to look twice just to be sure." The movement was sharp and well discipline, the years of practice obvious as soon as she saw it.

The Shield of Vale agreed, "Yeah, I was thinking the same thing too." He bit the inside of his cheek as he thought of the implications behind it.

Pyrrha Nikos said it first, "The Reaper used a Valesian salute."

* * *

A/N:

And there you have it, Ruby vs. Pyrrha.

I personally always thought that if Ruby and Pyrrha ever got into a friendly spar it would be of epic proportions, but Pyrrha would ultimately win.

Well, that's all I've got for now. I'm finally on vacation back home right now, and I will say life is wonderful. I'll probably take off the next few weeks to relax from everything, but I might do a little bit of writing while I'm here - but I also might now.

I've penned probably a quarter of chapter 10 right now, so as far as updates go I think my next goal is to have chapter 10 up by the end of september for those that are curious.

Thank you for everyone who took the time to review, I do take into consideration the things I've read in your reviews and apply it to the over all flow of the story. It definitely helps out a lot when I start writing new chapters and look at the over all outline of how I want each chapter to go.

And once more, thank you for reading this chapter of Gladiator and I do hope to see some of you again in the next one.

Cheers,

DevilRed


	10. Entertainer

_A young boy was perplexed at the scene before him._

 _His father stood over the famed Torchwick champion, the other wise strong and gallant Gladiator was reduced to a blubbering mess that was unfit for a man among men._

" _Grovel and swear it to me." Remus Torchwick wore an indifferent face over his slave._

 _Roman watched the man grit his teeth as he put his forehead to the sand to beg, "I swear I'll stay loyal to the Torchwick name, have mercy on my family."_

 _A solid kick was planted on the slave's jaw, "Have mercy what?"_

 _The slave gripped his hand into a tight fist, "Have mercy, Master Torchwick."_

 _Remus grinned as he motioned for the guards to drag the slave back to his cell._

" _Father, what happened?" Roman was curious._

" _He was disloyal, my son." Remus doted on his only boy quite often, "That thing is a product of our House, once a product goes bad you must seek out ways to correct the problem."_

" _But… How did you do that? Isn't Varro a rather stubborn one?" He referred to the Torchwick champion, Roman had seen a few occasions where the slave had acted out against the slaver._

" _Their hearts." Remus smiled as he motioned for his son to follow him into the Villa, "Hearts are a rather powerful thing – like in the Arena, if you win the hearts of the crowd then you win over the people as well."_

" _Is that why everyone likes us? Because we win their hearts?"_

 _Remus nodded his head, "We win their hearts with our famed Gladiators." He looked his son carefully in the eye, "And to control a person, you must find what is closest to their heart."_

" _What do you mean 'find what is closest to their heart'?" Roman was confused._

 _The Torchwick patriarch laughed, "I see you're still a bit young." He ruffled his son's hair, "One day, when you fall in love, you will understand why it's important."_

Roman Torchwick did fall in love one day – he fell in love with the power that House Torchwick had built and exuded.

Power that would have disappeared after the Reaper's loss before the King, but thankfully Oum was smiling down on him.

He sent to Torchwick an angel by the name of Salem to save him.

"Have you figured out which of the nobility has been infiltrated?" His green eyes narrowed as he registered the information that had been briefed to him for the past 3 hours.

The Fall Villa was strangely empty, the slaves once again locked up in the cells below as this meeting took place. Salem sat comfortable in the most lavish chair of the parlor, Roman sat across from her with Cinder at his side. Emerald chose to stand off to the side while Mercury stood in the center to tell his tale.

"Not yet, I need to build more rapport with him." Mercury answered in a bored tone, Roman resisted the urge to put the 'slave' in his place.

"Do let me know, I will say I am slightly unhappy at the situation." Roman would have to reflect on his documents and make a list of all of his slave transactions for the past year.

Mercury chuckled, "I don't think you have anything to worry about, you're a tough nut for that Faunus to crack. But he does have an eye on your Gladiators… Which makes sense, you have the fiercest fighters in all of Mistral – well maybe not _the fiercest_." He referred to the Torchwick loss earlier in the Arena.

Roman growled at the younger man.

"Play nice now, Mercury." Cinder cooed as she smirked at her friend's reaction, "But you understand, right?"

"Besides not going bankrupt, what do I get out of all this once the dust settles?" He crossed his arms and leaned back in his seat, steady eyes were kept on the Councilman herself. "This is treason we're talking about." A leer was present in Roman's eyes.

Salem smiled, "What do you think would be enough to suffice for the Torchwick name?" Her hands were folded calmly, she was comfortable with the stare, "Do keep in mind the fairy tale of the boy who flew too close to the sun."

The slave master chuckled, "And this is why I am so fond of House Fall," Emerald was impressed with the way the man worked under pressure – he was trying to barter a bigger deal other than the one that they had already offered him.

He would be foolish to not accept because that would be the end of the Torchwick name.

"So, which one did you have in mind?" Roman cut to the chase, "You can take your pick of the litter."

Cinder bit her lip, "I would personally love to have Red, but Mother was the one to strike up the deal – so I'll be respectful to that claim."

The Councilman sighed, "You already have these two over here, I don't understand why you need a third." Salem stressed as she rolled her eyes at her daughter, "But I must confess, I have been feeling a bit lonely as of late – but what I crave is something much more _heartier_ than what's available. No offense, my dear Mercury."

"None taken." He shrugged it off.

"So the Monkey King then?" Roman offered, the Faunus was his most popular Gladiator in terms of _service._

Salem shook her head, "The Wilding is what I crave." A coy smile.

"One Wilding for a cleared debt, coming right up." Roman Torchwick smiled, his life and name still secure despite the disappointing loss that Red had incurred.

"And one more thing, this is more for our usual business we conduct." The slave master turned towards Cinder, "I remember you mentioning something about a reenactment?"

Cinder racked her mind as she mentally went over the schedule of events laid out for the Great Stone Coliseum, "Yes, the reenactment of Vale's last stand during the war – I figured it would be a great way to start off the beginning of winter in two weeks." She raised a brow towards the slave master, "What of it?"

"I would like to throw Red in there, if it's still open – as a matter of fact, I insist." He wore a smug grin at whatever was going on through his head.

"As one of the Valesians? Roman, _we won_ that battle."

"Oh no, not as a Valesian – I meant as a Mistrali."

Emerald's face twisted into a sinister grin, Mercury perked up and held back the laugh once he and the bodyguard exchanged a knowing glance.

"Oh, that would be an absolute delight."

* * *

"I'm sorry, but we need more than just that." Oobleck sighed at the two in front of him, "The few slave owners of the suspected prisoners you pointed out are pressing for a legal trial. Bottom line, if we can't come up with their official identification paperwork from the office, then we can't take them away." Yesterday Jaune confronted 3 slave owners about the suspected prisoners they kept, all 3 vehemently denied it and demanded proof. At Oobleck's suggestion, they decided to hold back on the rest until they got evidence.

Jaune rumbled, "This. Is. Bull. Shit." He looked over the list of names, it was at least 10 people long – a list of people that they suspected to be Valesian prisoners but couldn't find their identification papers from the Office of Official Records. What they were going off of were entries from the archived logs of slaves and prisoners.

"This country is barbaric in the way you treat your prisoners – turn them to _slaves?!_ The Valesian Commander was tightly wound from the last few days, he was supposed to go back to Vale tomorrow with what should be the last of the prisoners of war. "Vale was able to release all the Mistrali prisoners we had taken within _a month_ of the treaty being signed. But here I am, nearly half a year later and I'm still tracking down Valesian soldiers." King Ozpin kept the captured Mistrali soldiers as such, simply prisoners with basic human rights.

Oobleck looked sympathetic, "I apologize, but that's just how this Kingdom runs." Mistral had the largest slave population and market in all of Remnant.

"It's cruel…" Jaune ran a hand through his blond locks, "What if I were to find proof of their citizenship from Vale? That'll suffice, won't it?" 10 good men were still kept from their families.

Oobleck nodded, "It would." He looked over a particular name, "This one in particular, though – 'Scout R.R.', I took a look in the office myself and I couldn't find _anything_ that correlates to what you told me." He rubbed his chin thoughtfully, "It's suspicious, I will say." That particular name has proved to be the most difficult to decipher from the original list of suspected prisoners. But it was just as he said, he couldn't find a 'Ruby Rose' recorded any where in the records.

It was suspicious.

Pyrrha narrowed her eyes, "Ruby Rose, that's the Reaper's real name." The Mistrali Commander took a deep breath, "I saw it and Jaunt saw it, it was a Valesian salute she used – she has to be a prisoner." She looked over the name once more on the list.

"Pyrrha," The Councilman was sympathetic, "I believe you, I do think there's something suspicious going on, but I must remind you that it _will_ get political. This is Roman Torchwick we are talking about, to accuse him of trapping a prisoner is futile if we don't have solid evidence." Oobleck's face was grim, "I never liked the man, or the entire House Torchwick, if I were to be blunt. But for generations that house has known it's way around tongue and quill – they're more influential than most of our politicians and the Torchwick roots do run deep. No doubt House Fall would be quick to aid him if we went through with the accusation."

"So are you suggesting we wait to bring it up?" Pyrrha raised a brow, "If we-"

Oobleck cut her off, "No, don't bring it up – not until we have evidence." He stood tall, "I have a gut feeling that if we accuse him of keeping a prisoner without proper evidence, something might happen to Ms. Rose." The Councilman had been thinking it through for some time now – it was extremely odd that there was no other record available that mentioned 'Ruby Rose'.

Bartholomew Oobleck suspected foul play.

Jaune sighed, "I'm sure we'll have something back in Vale about her, I know for a fact that we keep good records of everyone – especially our soldiers." He looked over the list of names, "It'll be at least a month, or two at most, before I get back," It would be at least a week to travel by boat from Mistral to Vale, and then another week for the return trip.

Pyrrha placed a hand on Jaune's shoulder, "Your prisoners, I'll keep a careful eye on their slave owners until you return then."

* * *

"You have been in an awfully good mood lately." Klein commented as he set down the final bit of paperwork for that week.

Business was booming for Weiss Schnee, they were in the midst of going over some new plans for opening up a main headquarters in the heart of the Kingdom. This would mean that they would have to hire more people to help keep things running smoothly. The Merchant had every right to be in a good mood as of late.

It was just _too good_ of a mood and Klein had his suspicions that it had something to do with a certain Gladiator.

Weiss smiled brightly, "It has been a good past few weeks." The paperwork was re-examined one last time before being filed away. Next to the stack was an envelope from her Father in Atlas, sending his praise for increasing their profits that business quarter by 25%. The Schnee Merchant Company was selling their regular wares of food, clothing, and other items. And their Dust was selling exceptionally well.

The partnership with Roman had proved to be most helpful, his connections amongst the Mistral elite helped get the Schnee brand out there and establish the first foothold. Weiss quickly learned over the course of time that she had been in Mistral that the Dust market was lacking – especially in comparison to Atlas.

Weiss figured it was due to the lack of natural Dust mines in the entire Anima continent. The northern continent had a lot of Dust mines to speak of, but a good majority of it was located far north in the deep tundra of Solitas.

Dust was discovered almost 50 years ago, they were unsure at first of what to do with the new and strange resources – but due to the curiosity of some they found ways to use it for practical means. Fire dust to light dark rooms or even start a fire if you hit it just right with a rock, ice Dust to help preserve the freshness of food, and then earth Dust crystals could be used to reinforce walls against any threat, namely keeping the Grimm at bay outside of each Kingdom's walls.

But she was a bit wary of the Dust now; her Father also sent news of some recent break through that Atlas scientists recently discovered when it came to Dust… The Altesian military immediately stepped in on the break through. For now, the break through was going to be close hold – but Weiss knew that her Father also exchanged letters with Roman.

What was the saying?

"Loose lips, sink ships." Weiss learned the phrase from Pyrrha.

"What was that, Master Schnee?" Blake was in the study at Klein's request (the elder gentleman wanted also wanted to get out of the Villa for a bit after being cooped up all day but didn't want to leave Weiss all alone with the menial work) to help organize the rest of the files. The Faunus wasn't a complete rarity, but her ability to read was considered very valuable.

Weiss looked over to the Faunus, she didn't even notice Klein leave and Blake entering. "It's quote I learned from Lady Nikos, it has to do with basically keeping a secret."

"Ah." Blake responded, she left it at before returning to the task at hand – she kept her remarks about the sheer amount of gold lien the Schnee was making to herself.

Weiss frowned; she saw this as an opportunity to talk to the slave, rarely were they ever alone and in such close proximity to each other without Klein being around. She knew the Faunus could keep a conversation, she's over heard the idle chatter Blake would have with the manservant.

"My Father sent a letter, which is what reminded me of the quote." The phrase hung in the air.

Blake picked it up, but was unsure how to proceed. She could sense it, Weiss was trying to be amicable to her once more. The Faunus wanted to keep things like these to a minimum, but in the same hand, the Schnee hadn't really done anything to warrant the cold shoulder – now Blake was just coming off as an ass.

She took a breath – Weiss did buy her a book, a really good book at that, "What was the letter about?" Klein was pleasant to talk to, so maybe she wouldn't be so bad as well.

The Merchant kept a small smile to herself, "He was sending his regards about the company's performance this last quarter."

"From the looks of it, it's well deserved praise." Blake looked over the name of the receipt from a local vendor in town and the placed it in the proper drawer.

"How much of the paperwork can you understand?" Weiss always pondered about it, she knew the Faunus to be intelligent.

Blake had a deer in headlights look as her ears folded against her head.

"No, no – I'm not mad, really. I'm just curious." Weiss tried again.

The slave relaxed, the Merchant seemed genuine "Oh – well, I guess enough to know that you're close to owning about half of the fishing ships on the docks and that Lady Adele's clothing line has had a price surge of nearly 30% due to high demand this quarter." She quickly looked over the document and filed it away.

The Schnee was colored impress; the math and verbiage used in the transactions were considered to be at a higher competency rate than the average person. "You're very intelligent, Blake – back in Atlas it would take a few months for a junior merchant to learn how to comprehend some of the charts on here."

"I read a lot before I – when I was younger." The Faunus left it at that.

Weiss knew they were approaching a sore spot, Blake's past as a free person.

"I can tell you read a lot, you still do – speaking of which, how was that novel?" A change of pace, "I read it back home and I saw the title in town and thought you would enjoy it too."

Blake was glad for it, "Fantastic, I thought for sure the Heroine was just going to walk away towards the end." A gleam in her eye, "She didn't have to go back, she did what she needed to do."

Weiss nodded her head in affirmation, "I was surprised too, and I thought her a little foolish for going back."

"I didn't think it was foolish," Amber eyes looked into blue ones, just to make sure she could _have an opinion_. Weiss looked up and nodded for her to continue, "I thought it showed how she remained true to what she believed in the end."

"I will say that I try to be as pragmatic as possible when it comes to a lot of things, other things not so much."

Blake raised a brow, "What are you not as pragmatic about?"

Weiss wore a mischievous smile, "Loose lips sink ship." She was starting to become a bit of an optimist when it came to certain matters of the heart.

* * *

It's cold in the Arena.

The signature mix of gold and bronze gleamed in the dim lighting, the maroon shirt and distinct Mistrali patterns that were etched into the armor was a familiar sight within the ranks of that Kingdom's army. I can see my breath with how cold it is in here.

I abhor Torchwick and everything he fucking stands for.

For the past few weeks I've been trying to figure out why he's been in such a good mood, I was expecting the complete opposite since I lost that big match against Pyrrha. Instead of being called into his office and given a stern lecture by him, he pretty much left to my own devices. No extra training and no threats, even Nadir found it eerie how _normal_ everything was after the Match of the Century.

Even today the people are still talking about it.

I rub the new scar on my throat, the mark that will forever remind me of my loss against Pyrrha Nikos. Honestly, I'm still questioning how I'm still standing right now – no normal person should even be _alive_ after all this crap I've been through.

I hear some scuffling to my right, slaves dressed in Vale's signature colors and armor. I bite the inside of my cheek so hard that I can taste blood, the armor the slaves wore weren't some cheap knock off – no, they were the real deal. Meaning that the corpses of my brethren were defiled robbed of the very uniform we so proudly wore. I would give anything to switch armor with these slaves.

"And the army of the King Ozpin holed up for a final stand on the island of Vytal!" I hear the voice announce.

They're re-enacting the Vale's Last Stand in the Vytal Conflict – the slaves over there are supposed to be the Valesian Army and I am supposed to be some Mistrali Commander who led the charge, I didn't catch his name, but I know that it's not Pyrrha because she was here when the war ended.

"Go!" One of the guards ordered, the slaves looked at me and then at the guard, then once more at me. The fear is evident in their eyes as they hesitate to step outside.

I almost want to yell at them for their cowardly behavior while wearing Vale's uniform.

A crack of the whip echoed in the hall, "I said, _GO."_ The guard was losing his patience. My opponents finally run out into the open, I hear the jeering as soon as I see them step into the cold day light. The guard turns his attention to me, "And you Reaper, make Mistral proud today." A slight smile was cocked on the guard's face.

"The one to lead the charge against Vale's last stand was none other than our honorable Commander Haizel Rainart – who will be represented by none other than the Reaper!"

I take my cue, the armor I wore was stifling to say the least – I wish more than anything to be wearing the proud silver and green of Vale. I take my sword and flourish it towards the crowd, I spy someone dressed in Mistral's uniform up in the stands.

I'm assuming the man with the grizzly beard and dark brown hair that's built like a Beowulf is Commander Haizel Rainart. The nobles around him are giving him a pat on the shoulder and the Arena is still applauding the war hero.

Immediately in front of me I see the slaves from earlier in a crude formation. There's about seven of them, and from my initial look of them I don't think any of them have had much experience – except for maybe one or two. Looking closely I see that the two I had pegged to have _some_ battle experience had rallied the small band together.

They're shields are raised as they stood together line-abreast, some had their swords drawn, but I can see that some of them aren't used to holding the sword.

"Together!" A slave with dark eyes seemed to command them, I take a closer look at him and really get to figure him out in the sunlight rather than the dark catacombs of the Coliseum.

He definitely is no stranger to battle. I see a few scars decorate on his arms – but I have no real time to think about where he could have possibly come from.

"Impatient, are we?" I hear the commentator in the marble stands comment, "Let this re-enactment begin!"

I bite the inside of my cheek, I don't think I've ever been this out numbered before. I spy Roman up in the stands with that Oum forsaken smile on his face – he thinks this match is in the bag, but he obviously doesn't see or feel what I do. Despite how clumsy this rag tag group's formation looks, it's just giving off a certain vibe – an ominous vibe.

Because I think I might be in some real trouble right now.

It's a stale mate; I'm staring down the wall of shields for the first minute. I have my own shield at the ready as my instincts tell me to not under estimate these slaves.

My instincts are never usually wrong.

The slave with dark eyes shouted something, but it's hard to hear over the crowd. I watch as the slaves begin to break formation and make a run for it.

Shit.

I know exactly what they're trying to do.

My legs pump hard and fast and I'm quick to head off one of the slaves that tried to encircle me from behind. I can see the shock on a few of the slave's faces – they weren't expecting me to move _this_ quickly. He manages to block my first strike with his shield, but his swordplay is extremely lacking when he attempts for a stab at my mid-section. I'm quick to punish him for his mistake by burying my sword right above his naval.

Quickly I raise my shield arm to block the next attack – I quickly see that two slaves are trying to take me on, but once again – they're sword play is abysmal at best.

"Re-group! Re-group!" I hear the voice roar, the dark haired slave is commanding the slaves to come together again. His eyes are burning with something, I can't blame him, and I did just take out three of their own in the span of nearly a minute.

I'll give them credit, were they a bit more skilled (and faster) their plan to try to trap me in encirclement might have worked.

"Wh-What do we do?" I hear one of the slaves voice crack, it's just four of them now and they're tense as the leader is thinking something through in his head.

"Together. We go together." A second slave spoke up, this one has lighter eyes and is also the one I pegged earlier to have some battle experience.

I decide not to give them a moment longer to re-think a strategy as I rush in head first to the last of them. The dark eyed slave's eyes widened in surprise, but he doesn't hesitate as he heads me off from the other three. His swordplay is actually pretty good as we trade blows and he even manages to stay his ground.

But I really don't have time to critique him, because the other three are starting to rush in on the fight.

Oum dammit, as I expected, the light-eyed slave decided to join the fray with the dark eyed slave. The two actually work very well in tandem, reading each other perfectly and giving me minimal time to rest.

What also doesn't help is that the other slaves, though their strikes are clumsy at best, are joining in and sneaking in a thrust here and a swipe there. I'm glad my stamina is stupidly big as I manage to keep up this juggling act for what seems like hours.

I need to do something soon because I can't keep up this game of blocking everyone here.

"Don't let up! Keep going!" The dark eyed slave commanded, the other two slaves who didn't have any real battle experience nodded their heads, but I can see that they're visibly tired.

I smirk to myself as I see an opening as they both come at me. I manage to knock back the first slave to cross swords with me; the second wasn't so lucky as I lift my left arm quickly to slash my sword across his chest. I don't wait to watch his body fall to the sand since I have to quickly re-engage with the last three.

The light-eyed slave has his sword raised, I block his strike with my shield and I see the dark eyed slave charging towards me. My leg muscles flex as I prepare to parry out of the way.

But my leg is caught – or rather held in place.

This son of a bitch I struck earlier is holding on to my ankle with his dying breath in an attempt to help what's left of these bastards.

"Fuck!" I seethe as I try to wrench my foot from his hold. I see the sword strike coming, but my body can't respond properly as I try to create some space between my attacker and me.

It's not enough.

I feel the burn of cold steel penetrate my upper right thigh. I bite back a scream as I watch the slave's gladius get buried half way through my fucking thigh. I can taste the iron in my mouth. I fall over on to the sand with the sword still sticking out of my thigh.

I immediately feel a kick find it's way into my side, the dark eyed slave is trying to capitalize on my state. Despite being stabbed in the fucking leg, I still managed to keep a grip on my sword thanks to the constant training and battles. Before the second kick can connect, my body jerks over and I stab my sword upwards and return the favor.

I've always wondered what a man would sound like if he were _stabbed_ in the loins.

The last two standing slaves both stop in their tracks as they watch in horror the dark eyed slave scream like a banshee and his form falls over. I could be benevolent and give him death, but the fucker doesn't deserve it for nearly maiming me.

I look down at my leg, I don't think the sword went through the bone, because I can kind of move… I look at the other two who are simply stricken with disgust at the slave bleeding out through his manhood.

I grit my teeth together and grip the handle of the protruding weapon. With a swift jerk I remove the cold blade, which is now dripping, with my blood.

"Arrrggh!" I grit my teeth tighter as I force myself to stand up once more.

The crowd roars at the sight. The remaining two slaves pale at me.

My blood runs warm down my legs, I know I need to get this treated soon – so I suppose I have to make quick work of this. But I can hardly move the way I want to the last slaves.

"Are you dickless too like that cunt there?!" I goad them.

And it works as the two charge at me.

It's easy for me to read their attacks as I parry with minimal movement – it's a real crowd pleaser since I'm here without a shield and simply _dodging_ these strikes.

I spy an opening from a poorly executed overhead slash. The tip of my blade goes straight for his neck, I take a half step to the side to dodge the strike coming from the light-eyed slave. With as much strength as I can muster I rip my gladius from the dead slave's neck and aim a sword slash across the last slaves stomach.

Which connects quickly and cleanly. The light-eyed slave brings a hand to his stomach in disbelief.

I let out a breath and for the first time since the fight has started I take a real look at the sands around me.

All I see are dead men wearing Vale's uniform – the thought sickens me.

But I can't let it show. Not in front of him.

I look towards the marble stands and both Commander Rainhart and Torchwick have a please look on their faces. I fucking loathe it, I want nothing more than to throw this gladius aimed straight for Roman's putrid face. I want nothing more than to watch his blood run red on that pretentious white tunic he parades around in.

Oum, I absolutely abhor the slave master.

"Fuck!" I impulsively yell loudly in frustration at the thought of Torchwick and my leg as well as I can feel the strength in me depleting.

I notice the Arena go silent at my scream – oh Dust, I got everyone's attention on me now. I used to have a problem like this as a kid, where I kind of just do things and talk really impulsively. I _feel_ those green eyes on me and it makes my insides shudder.

My eyes scan the marble stands, and then the general public filling in the rest of the stands. I lift my bloodied gladius at the marble stands and then I flourish it once more towards the rest of the Coliseum with such gusto.

I let out the loudest battle cry I can.

"Are you not entertained?!"

The Arena erupts both in laughter and applause at my antics.

I turn towards my Master in stands, "Master Torchwick!" I call out, "Are you not entertained?" I repeat my question.

Torchwick stands, that smirk still evident as he stand up straight to answer not only to me, but for the crowds as well.

"I am, Reaper!"

Good. Now get me the fuck out of here because I can barely stand.

* * *

A/N:

Long time no see guys, I know I'm a little late on deliver chapter 10, but some times you just hit a writer's block every now and then. What also helped is the fact that the new RWBY is up too, so that definitely helped in getting myself going again.

So if I were to break this out into arcs, I would say that this is the start of a new arc in this adventure. I will say that I did spend some time being productive and part of that was re-organizing my notes and outline for the rest of the story. The intended chapter count for _Gladiator_ will be at 24 chapters after all is said and done.

I know this chapter's a little lighter in comparison to the previous ones, but like I said it's kind of the start of a new arc to help set the stage for what else is to come.

So that about covers everything.

I will leave a little teaser about the next two chapter - Winter is coming. Literally, it's getting pretty cold. Might need to fan some _embers_ to get a warmed up.

Horrible attempt at puns, but I think I'd get a high-five from Yang for the effort.

Hope to see some of you in Chapter 11 - I'm optimistic about the timeline for it's release... so let's say about a week from today?

Til next time.

Cheers,

DevilRed


	11. Like a Lion

"Ruby, you need to rest." Sun tried to coax the girl to go back into her bed, the injuries she had sustained the day prior were severe and Miltiades mentioned that it would take weeks for her to heal. The medic couldn't say for certain if Ruby would be able to walk normally ever again, but that didn't deter the Gladiator in the slightest.

"No! Why did he leave so suddenly? No one knew that Nadir was being given to House Fall!" Ruby Rose was unconscious when they brought her back from the Arena. The ordeal caused her to miss Nadir leaving completely.

Sun sighed as he grabbed hold of Ruby and literally dragged her back to her bed, "You need to lay down, and I can't believe you have the energy to be raging around right now." He motioned towards the injured leg, "Torchwick allowed Nadir to come around the infirmary last night before Cinder and Mercury took him away."

"It's not fair…" Ruby whined, "Oum damn that man to the deepest levels of Hell with me so that I may spend eternity torturing him for all that he's done." She seethed silently.

The Faunus nodded his head in agreement, "I didn't see it coming either, but from what I've heard from the house slaves it seems like Nadir was given to the Fall family to appease his position with them. Politics."

"It's just us now." Ruby smiled sadly, "I don't know what I would do if I were without you too…"

Sun sat at Ruby's bedside and placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder, "I don't know what I would do without you as well, not after all this." He smiled sadly, "I swear to Oum and all the Dust in Remnant, Roman can tear me away from you after my dying breath."

A light punch landed on Sun's chest, "Don't say that, I want you alive, Dust dammit." Silver eyes looked into clear blue, "I love you, Sun. So don't die on me."

Sun smiled back as he leaned over to plant a soft kiss on Ruby's forehead, "I love you too, Rubes. Don't worry, I'm not going anywhere."

* * *

Yang yawned as she lay back in the chair; the fruit salad she got from one of the port's vendors was sweet and refreshing in the Menagerie sun. She couldn't believe how it's the beginning of winter and yet it's still so warm in the southern hemisphere of Remnant.

She liked hanging out at the port because of all the different people that would blow through from so many different parts of the world. Yesterday she met a couple of uniformed guards that hailed all the way from Atlas. Their skin was pale and their uniform stifling in the warmth. They made for great company after a couple pints at the pub. Their small detachment was here on a good will mission with their Commander to meet with the High Leader of Menagerie.

Something about keeping relations civil, Yang didn't exactly care for things of politics. She'd rather swing her sword and hunt Grimm, which is what she had been doing here across the Faunus continent with Qrow. Yang understood why Huntsmen didn't want to come down south to hunt – the Grimm in the deserts here were no joke. On top of that the two also extended their stay to help over see the reinforcement of the village walls to further keep the Grimm beasts out.

"What's a sweetheart like you sitting all by your lonesome?" A man dressed in a loose tunic took the seat next to her, Yang studied him for a moment longer and guessed him to be from Mistral based on his clothing choice.

"Huntress. I'm here relaxing for the last few days I'm in town." Yang left her ridiculously huge sword back in the room, she did keep a small dagger on her person at all times, Qrow had gone to settle formal business with Ghira so that they could report to the Huntsmen Guild in town for their reward.

"A strong one I bet." The sailor winked at her, "But I reckon not nearly as strong as the Gladiators of my hometown."

She raised a brow, "What makes you say that?" She challenged him with a smirk on her face.

"Ayye, let me tell you," He slurped his pint and the drunken blush was evident on his face. "We let loose Grimm and beasts alike into that Arena, have these brave and noble fighters go up against them and see them triumph."

"Something I get paid to do, but go on." Yang's tone was light as she smiled to herself.

"I see your game there." He laughed a bit, "But let me tell you about the Match of the Century. Imagine our best Commander Pyrrha Nikos – hero of the Vytal Conflict and probably the strongest fighter in our ranks. Commander Nikos hails from a family of gladiators and heroes, and it isn't just lip service. I've seen dismantle and easily over whelm man and beast alike." There was gusto in his tone as he went on about the beloved hero. "So who else to match this famed and beloved hero than with someone who goes by the name of the Reaper."

"Spooky." Yang quipped, but she motioned the man to continue.

The sailor shot an irritated look at the blond's antics, but it broke back into a smile, "The Reaper… a Gladiator I've never seen before. Let me tell ya – the young girl has gone up against a pack of Beowolves and slain many men easily three times her size. But despite all those odds against her she has always come up victorious. Easily the fiercest fighter you'll ever meet."

"Do these Gladiators have a death wish or something?" Yang often fought huge beasts and Grimm, but it was always for the protection of the people. She couldn't imagine waging her life for mere entertainment.

"No, they're mostly slaves. A few warriors seeking glory often volunteer to fight in the Arena, like Commander Nikos."

Yang let the information sit, she remembered learning that Mistral had the hugest slave market in Remnant. "So who won? The brave Commander or the fierce slave?"

"I saw the match with my own eyes – I would call it a tie, but alas the great fight ended because the Reaper's sword snapped in half. The Nikos heirloom blade is forged from the toughest steel in the world." He looked over to his new companion, "As a Huntress you must travel a lot, have you been to Mistral?"

"I've actually never been to Mistral," Yang thought back on her travels, her and Qrow mostly stuck around Vale and Vacuo since they both laid claim to Vale as their home base. Not to mention a standard Hunt would take a month to really finish and thoroughly eradicate Grimm nest areas.

"You should go, maybe volunteer in the Arena too if you think you're as strong as you are." A challenge.

"Maybe I will, find this Pyrrha and take her title as strongest." Yang smiled at the thought, when was the last time she had gone on vacation?

"It's the Reaper you would want to roll with." The sailor let out as he emptied the pint, "Thanks for the company, Missy."

"Thanks for the story." Yang smiled.

This is why she liked hanging out by the port.

* * *

"Running into you is the last thing on my list of things to do." Winter Schnee eyed the man across the room, they were both there on business with Ghira. Winter was there on behalf of General Ironwood, Atlas and Menagerie had a naval partnership when it came to patrolling the southern waters for pirates. Menagerie would allow Atlas some resources in exchange for their fishermen's safety.

Qrow Branwen was there to wrap up the issue of the Grimm nests that were found close to Faunus village.

"Haven't exactly counted down the days since we last met." Qrow looked over the Altesian Officer.

"How have you been?" Winter broke the ice first.

"Cut the small talk." Qrow looked away, "Don't feel like you owe me."

"But I do." Winter mentioned, "You let me-"

"There wasn't a good reason to kill you," The Hunter looked out the window as he waited for Ghira to finish up whatever meeting he had.

Winter tugged at the prim collar of the stark white and silver uniform, "I didn't fight in the Vytal Conflict, General Ironwood allowed me to stay out of it."

"I don't care for those things, that's why I'm a Huntsman now." Red eyes continued to stare out the window, "That 5-year war with you guys… it was pointless and I never want to stomach anything like that again."

"You were a good scout for Vale, I still remember my troops telling me about the Red-Eyed Qrow stalking through the forests and single-handedly taking down squads." Winter was a young officer at the time, still fresh from the military academy.

Qrow looked down, "I hear through the grape vine you're a good officer." A sigh, "It's just a damn shame that we can't keep things peaceful – Vytal was unnecessary, too many dead for a damn island."

"Vytal is a strategic foothold for Mistral."

"What's strategic about their deaths?"

Winter remained silent in the face of the veteran, "Nothing."

Qrow took a final look out the window and decided to be civil, for once. It's not like he ran into the Schnee very often, "I won't antagonize you any longer, it's been years since we last saw each other. How's your sister?" Their relationship could only be described as strange – a series of chance meetings over the course of the years had brought them to this point. He never thought he would see the doe-eyed officer at some random port in Vacuo after the peace treaty had been signed with Vacuo. From then in on it was a trend, every so often they would run into each in the strangest corners of Remnant.

"Weiss is well from what she writes me, she went to Mistral to open up a new branch."

"Doing more of your dirty father's bidding, she should have left." The Schnee name was famous for their cutthroat methods, not to mention they went through slaves like nothing for their famed mines in the north.

"She wants to turn around the Schnee name."

"You've done a decent job of that yourself." The Huntsman leaned against the wall and kept a steady gaze.

Winter smiled at the rare compliment, "How's your niece? She get her license?"

"She's doing alright herself, she's been following me around as a partner on all of our Grimm expeditions."

"It's good seeing you Qrow." The officer let out, she thought back to the time when they met as enemies on the battlefield, she remembered hearing stories about that team Qrow was a part of. There were three more of them that worked together Qrow, but the old war vet didn't like to talk about the old memories.

"I suppose it's good seeing you too." Qrow smiled wearily, "I hope we don't ever have another war for you to fight in."

"You wouldn't take up arms again for Vale?"

"No." Qrow answered flatly. "No more wars, not for the rest of my lifetime."

* * *

A sheet of sweat coated the Wilding's body as he stepped out of the personal quarters that belonged to Councilman Salem. He was slightly out of breath and glad that the woman wasn't keen on the whole cuddling thing. It was strange to be here, never would he had ever guessed that he would leave the Torchwick Villa.

It had barely been a week, but Nadir was already adjusted to the lifestyle of the Fall slaves, which was not as grueling as what Torchwick put his slaves through. Mercury mentioned that this is pretty much the average life of slaves that belonged to your regular nobles. Nothing in comparison to the lavish wonderland that the Torchwick family had built upon hard slave discipline to make those parties as legendary as they are.

The Wilding scratched a bit at the skin around his collar, he knew the bath in the slave's quarters was still open and that there was left over food and drink available to him if he asked the kitchen slaves for some. He felt a pang of guilt as he thought over his plans for the rest of the evening. Other than training with Mercury and two other gladiators that the Fall family owned, it was a simple and quiet life.

Nothing like the life he had just left behind, the life that Ruby and Sun were still subjected to.

He ran a hand through his pink locks at the sight of Ruby before he left, she was pale from blood loss and the bandages that were wrapped around her thigh were soaked. She had taken a damn sword to the leg _and still_ managed to pull off a magnificent victory. Ruby was like no other that he had met.

She didn't deserve any of the bullshit that she had been subjected to the past few years.

Nadir nearly ran into the silver haired slave as he turned the corner.

"Hey, you okay there?" Mercury was about to say a few choice words before he recognized who it was and what sort of expression he wore on his face.

"Ah, I apologize, I wasn't paying attention to where I was going." Nadir mentioned sheepishly.

Mercury looked over his shoulder, "If you're looking for something to eat, the kitchen staff and slaves are already gone – but I could help you out since I know where they keep everything."

"I would appreciate that." Nadir grinned, he heard stories about how well Mercury fights and it seems that he was good natured too since the fellow slave had done his best to ease Nadir into the new environment.

"No problem at all," Mercury smiled back as he turned heel, "What were you thinking about though? That was a serious look on your face." His tone sounded genuine.

Nadir looked the slave up and down before deciding to let go of the weight on his chest before it ate him up completely.

"I was just thinking about Sun and Ruby."

"What about them?" Mercury had to bite back the gut wrenching feeling that made him want to puke out his dinner. He wasn't the type to be the shoulder to lean on, or to lend an ear to someone who needed it. But there was things he needed to get done, so he would grit and bear with it all while the newest Fall slave spoke of his friends and some of their trials.

* * *

Red eyes looked up at the night sky, it was a full moon and the night sky always seemed a little darker as the seasons turned colder. Though Menagerie was still pleasant during the winter months. He thought it funny that the grown woman in front of him would be so hesitant – she rarely showed apprehension. That much was evident the other day when she rushed straight on into the King Taijitu nest.

He knew there was something eating at her from the way she would wring her hands every minute or so.

"I won't stop you." Qrow smiled down at his niece before she could get what it was off her chest.

"Wh-what?" Yang was taken back, "What do you mean?" She was surprised that her uncle managed to beat her to the punch.

"You wanna leave, right?" Qrow leaned back on the wooden railing as he listened to the waves below the pier. "I've been sensing it since our mission hunting Death Stalkers in Vacuo."

"I wasn't going to suggest that, I was going to ask if you wanted to head to Mistral. I heard an interesting-"

"Mistral's a nice place, lots to do in that Kingdom." The older Huntsman cut off his partner. "The Kingdom's got plenty to do with lots of character both good and shady, but nothing you can't handle." He turned his gaze to his niece, "Try it out for once, going on your own."

Yang looked down at the water, "You gonna be okay?"

Qrow snorted at the thought, "I think I'll be more than just okay." He looked on affectionately towards her, "I'll wait for you in Vale, the usual inn we stay at."

"You mean you don't want to hang out in Atlas for the winter?" Yang waggled her eyebrows.

"I will never do another Atlas mission in the winter for as long as I can help it." Qrow shuddered at the thought of toughing out another Atlas mission in the winter, in the summer it wasn't so bad, but the winter... that was something else.

"Guess I'll look into how much fares are from here." Yang smiled as she closed her eyes, it was a different feeling fluttering around in her stomach, to go off on her own adventure.

"I might be able to call in a favor for you in terms of transportation." A smug grin could be seen on the old Huntsman's face.

* * *

 _When it comes in like a Lion and goes out like a Lamb._

Blake stared at the piece of parchment one more time, she was surprised to find a message in that crevice of Villa's walls since it had been some time since the last one. She crumpled it and proceeded to shove the note into her mouth.

A few hard chews and a forceful gulp ensured the message should never be seen.

'March, we move in March.' The Faunus thought to herself as she tended to the rest of the garden, or rather what was left of it since the biting cold had came in.

"Blake, aren't you cold?" Despite the fact how it was not yet light out, Weiss was up and ready to take on the day since she was getting ready to open up a proper headquarters in the heart of the city and properly manage the business from there. She was mentioning how she would hire on some employees to help manage the books and lessen the workload that was starting to make even Blake's eyes swim.

"A little, I underestimated the weather a bit." She replied back sheepishly.

"Should I ask Klein for something warmer for you?" Weiss stepped out into the courtyard and immediately pulled the blanket around her shoulders a little tighter.

Blake shook her head as she motioned for her master to go back inside where it was much warmer, "It's fine, I was just checking on the garden and was kind of wondering if anything was still alive."

"It does look a little dreary without the flowers now, doesn't it?" The Merchant thought to herself, "In Atlas, we have plants that can grow in the winter. Maybe I'll send a letter back home for some seeds to be sent. Klein's favorite flower is known as a Sweet Pea, they're pretty popular in Atlas." She nodded her head at the thought as they two gravitated toward the fire pit of the parlor room.

"I don't think I've ever seen a winter plant before." Blake wondered what Klein's reaction would be if he saw his favorite plant growing here, the man absolutely adored the court yard in the early fall when everything was in full bloom for what would be the last time of the year.

"All the more reason to have some sent over then." Weiss hummed as she headed for the study, "Klein is preparing a porridge for breakfast, please come get me when the food is ready."

"Of course!" Blake called back.

Her stomach began to ache, but the Faunus couldn't tell if it was from swallowing the blasted paper earlier, or this feeling of guilt that was beginning to sit heavily on her conscience.

* * *

A crowd gathered around, it was a mix of the Faunus who ran the several port side shops and the pristine white that unmistakably belonged to the Altesian military. The bunch was rowdy and jostled about as bronze and silver lien was being thrown down into the center on which they thought wanted to place their bets on.

"Shall we settle this once and for all, friend?" To others, she sounded condescending, but to Yang she knew that the Atlas soldier meant well since that was just the way she talked. The Huntress learned that she had a prim and proper upbringing in order to follow in her father's footsteps. Something that Yang though was a waste, but after sharing a few pints wit her (and Oum could this Altesian keep up) she knew that it was something the Altesian Lieutenant had dreamed of doing since hearing her father's old war stories.

"Let's go, Penny." A signature smirk was played out on Yang's face, her elbow made a loud thunk as she set it heavily on the tabletop. Lieutenant Penny Polendina smiled as placed her arm into position with purpose and precision. A Faunus and another Altesian sailor did a final inspection over the starting position.

"Nothing dirty ladies, just keep it clean, and as always, if your elbow lifts up off the table it's an automatic loss." The Altesian explained.

"And bets are closed!" The Faunus chimed in.

The Faunus and sailor exchanged a look as they both inhaled, "Begin!" They roared out in unison.

The crowd exploded as the arm wrestling match between the Huntress and their beloved Lieutenant began.

Qrow chuckled at the sight as he watched the spectacle from the back of the crowd, but his attention was brought to the irritate footsteps that were snapping down the pier. He didn't even have to turn around to see who it was.

"What the fuck is going on here? I told those buffoons to get the ship ready to leave port and they're here doing Oum knows." Major Winter Schnee seethed as she took a deep breath to bring order to the chaos.

"Relax, they got their stuff squared away, that Lieutenant of yours is pretty sharp." Qrow patted Winter's shoulders.

"She better be, that's Ironwood's daughter."

If Qrow was drinking something, he would have choked on it, "Wh-What?"

"Don't ask too many questions, not a lot of people know who the mother is." She shrugged, "So where's your niece?" She scanned the crowd.

"Take a guess." A smug smile was plastered on his face.

"No… you don't mean." Winter paled as her eyes settled on the blond in the middle, a groan escaped, "I _already heard_ some stories about a blond in port that's like wild fire… I should have known."

"What were you hoping for?" The Huntsman's tone was just as a smug as his smile.

"A professional who hunted Grimm for a living." She pinched the bridge of her nose, "You're lucky we already had plans to sail for Mistral…" Lieutenant Polendina always had an unusual amount of energy, and just _seeing_ how _well_ she played off of Yang was causing a headache to form.

"How long's the journey again?" There was something about antagonizing the Schnee.

" _Seven days._ " Winter growled, "but if we go fast we can cut it down in half the time."

"Now why would you want to do that?"

The question was answered with the sound of a table not breaking, but imploding on the sheer force of Penny Polendina _smashing_ Yang Xiao Long's hand through the tabletop. A triumphant yell erupted from Atlas' finest as they broke out into a familiar war song to celebrate the Lieutenant's victory.

"Oh, I guess I can see why." Qrow had a deep laugh emit, which only further infuriated Winter.

Red eyes that were filled with mirth watched as Yang and Penny shook hands, both were obviously pleased with the outcome.

"Hey kid!" Qrow called out, "Come here, I want you to meet my…" He trailed off and looked the officer over, "My friend."

Winter's brewing headache subsided, she sighed as she watched Yang walk up with the Lieutenant in trail.

The trip couldn't be that bad.

* * *

 **A/N:**

Happy Holidays everyone, hope you enjoyed the new installment of Gladiator. Found some inspiration to continue on with this story, I'm determined to finish this and see this through.

Hope to see you guys in the chapter!

Cheers,

DevilRed


	12. High Seas and Stakes

The winter bite caused Ruby to shudder, she pulled the wool blanket around her shoulders a little tighter as she hobbled her way through the courtyard and watched the training take place.

"Ruby!" Octavia hissed out from the first floor patio, "You need to rest."

"But it's so boring, and I'm freezing my ass off just sitting around all day." She whined.

Octavia ran a hand through her brick red hair and sighed, "Come down to where our quarters are, we're underground and the heat from the hearth keeps well."

"I'd rather be out here with everyone." Silver eyes looked on longingly as she watched Sun and Neptune spar with each other. The newest Gladiator was practicing with a wooden pole arm.

A gentle hand was placed around her shoulder, "I know, but the more you rest the sooner you can recover – You were stabbed in the leg for Dust's sake." Octavia chastised lightly. "Come on, I'll get your bandages changed and we'll rub some more herbs to help your wounds."

Ruby sighed in defeat, "You're right." She followed the house slave to the medical bay, mostly glad that she was going to have some company for the next few hours.

* * *

The seawater felt like ice, but Yang didn't have an opportunity to pay any mind to it.

Not when she had a pirate's cutlass trying to maim her.

"Is it always this fun out at sea?" She fought back to back with the Major.

"Only on special occasions." The rapier flashed underneath the sun as it found its target – the pirate's heart.

Yang didn't have much time to be impressed at Winter's sword work, the cutlass was again trying to cut her in half. The massive sword on Yang's back caught the edge of the cutlass, the Huntress' eyes flashed and the sword (to Winter it was more like an oversized bladed club) moved at blinding speeds. Both the pirate and the officer were shocked at the movement, both caught off guard at how fast Yang was _even able_ to swing the blade that was just as tall as her.

The pirate looked down at the gaping wound across his belly, but he had no time to process the lethal injury as Yang's boot came in contact with his chest and he was pushed over board.

"Where did you learn to fight like that?" When Winter first saw the blade she laughed, there was no way that the blond actually fought with this thing, it seemed so impractical.

"Qrow." Yang flashed a smile, "He wanted me to learn how to wield a scythe, so when I was younger he gave me a sword much too big to practice with. It kind of just grew on me after that." She shrugged, "Having to fight with an oversized sword."

"I really should just throw common sense out the window when it comes to the two of you." Winter shook her head.

"Lieutenant Polendina!" Winter called out on deck, "How are we looking?"

"Just a few stragglers at this point!" Penny's sword was embedded in the stomach of another pirate, she went to the edge of the boat and unceremoniously shucked the body over board. "I've got men working on cutting their boat loose!" She shouted.

Yang was impressed at how well the Altesian military were able to fight off the pirates as they managed to swiftly board and invade the deck. The first thing they did was seal up the hatches and entrances to the lower decks and hull and immediately everyone took up a fighting position to repel the invaders.

"Tell the men to ready the canons, we fire on that blasted boat as soon as we're loose." The Captain of the ship, Ciel Soleil, called out as she kept the vessel steady. Plus, it didn't hurt to do a bit of stretching and exercising after being at sea for a few days.

"Look out!" Yang called out, a rough hand jerked the Captain to the ground, the hunk of metal was easily slung over to block the incoming sword strike from the pirate that had used a line to swing over to them. With the pommel of her sword, Yang buried it into the pirate's gut, a quick follow up brought the sword's edge across like a bat and the opponent was thrown over board. Winter caught a glimpse of the body before it went into the water; the man was cut cleanly in half.

"Impressive." Winter let out, not only did Yang slice through the man like butter, but she barely made a mess on the deck.

"He's not much compared to the Grimm I slay." Yang shrugged.

"C-Captain!" A terrified soldier ran across the deck, "The pirate ship!"

A black serpent like tail thrashed into the side of the pirate vessel, a flash of the bone scaled underbelly could be seen as the tail easily punctured through the wooden hull of the ship.

"G-Grimm! It's a fucking Grimm Sea Dragon!" Winter heard the pirates still aboard their vessel go into a panic as their vessel was quickly going under. Suddenly, their hull began to go lopsided since it was tied to the doomed vessel.

"Cut us loose! Now!" Captain Soleil commanded with her hands firm on the wheel, Winter went up to the railing to cut whatever ropes were still tied. Yang followed suit as she grabbed her smaller knife to start hacking away at the ties.

"Can… can you fight that thing?" Winter looked out at the ocean at the white skull of the sea Grimm as it ate the pirate stragglers that flailed about in the water.

Yang had a serious look on her face, "I can try, but I recommend that we get the fuck out of here while he's busy." She figured the commotion they caused with their fight is what attracted the great Grimm beast here, "I've never fought a Grimm Sea Dragon before, I've heard stories of other Huntsman taking one down… but they're usually in a big group for that one." She looked the crew over, "If it comes down to it I'll need some serious help."

The Major nodded as she mulled over their situation quickly, she looked over to the Captain and they both nodded in agreement, "Full speed ahead!" Captain Soleil roared to her sailors.

"How much fuel do we have left?" Winter looked to Penny who was quick to follow her superior.

"We were conservative on the way out so we can sustain full speed for an hour, maybe two if we slow down a few knots." Penny pulled out a spare piece of parchment and was scribbling down numbers and doing the math quickly.

Winter looked at the chart to get a gauge on their location and how far out they were from Mistral's port. The Schnee knew her way around the Navy when it came down to it, Captain Soleil was proud to have her as a pseudo first mate for this experimental vessel.

"600 nautical miles," Winter called out and her Lieutenant went to work crunching the numbers. "How long can we go full speed with 600 nautical miles left?"

Penny bit her lower lip, "Exactly 1 hour and 23 minutes, then we'll have to cut down to our usual cruising speeds if we don't want to be stranded without fuel." A stopwatch was pulled out from her pocket and the timer was set.

"You guys don't have sails?" Yang stood off to the side with her arms crossed, but her eyes were at the horizon behind the ship, watching intently at the water.

"This is one of the newer vessels, steel hull and top of the line engine, first of it's kind, that runs on fire Dust – supposed to just test it out on an 'easy mission' with the Major while she goes out for her duties, but as you can see…" The Captain interjected.

"Stuff just doesn't go according to plan." Yang bit the inside of her cheek, "It's coming after us, how fast are we going?" She knew they were going fast, the Grimm had trouble keeping up.

"40 knots." Penny answered.

"Can we keep this up for, how long was it?"

"1 hour and 21 minutes now."

Yang laid down the binoculars, she wasn't too familiar with this Grimm in particular, but she knew that after a while even these beasts would tire out – poke an Ursa enough times to chase you through the woods and those monsters would be huffing and puffing within half an hour, King Taijitu could sprint madly for about a quarter mile before they would slow down to a slither for at least 10 minutes before gathering the energy to sprint again.

"We'll run as long as we can, if it's still on our tail by the end of that time then we'll fight it." Yang took off her sword and looked it over one more time.

"Why not fight it now?" The Captain questioned.

"It's easier to fight Grimm when they're tired." Yang flashed a smile before returning her attention to her blade, "If it comes down to a fight I would ask to move everyone except for 4 or 5 of your best blades to go below deck, Grimm are usually hungry or aggravated when they attack and it'll be harder to predict where he'll strike if there's so many targets running around."

"I'll have the canons readied to fire at will." Penny suggested.

"Then get those orders going." Winter nodded her head in approval, she took up the binoculars and saw the dark scales skim the surface of the water for herself.

* * *

Blake wiped down the dining room table for what seemed to be hundredth time that day while Klein was bundled up and dragging the rugs out for the second time that day to beat the dust and dirt out of them.

"What's gotten Master Schnee so wound up?" She asked as she went to help Klein with the last of the rugs.

"It seems that Winter is coming to port in a few days," Klein hummed to himself, "Weiss looks up to her older sister and wants the place to be impeccable for her."

"She's in the military, if I remember correctly." They rolled up the rug and proceeded to carry it back to the entrance of the Villa.

"She'll be up for a Commander recommendation soon and her duties are bringing her to Mistral." Klein nodded, "Winter is a bit cold at first, very stern and serious, but she has a good heart and means well."

"More so than Master Schnee?" Blake teased.

"Much more so than Lady Weiss." Klein chuckled as the two rolled out the carpet.

"I can hear you both!" The Merchant in questioned yelled out in slight annoyance to the other two, it only caused Blake and Klein to laugh a little more at the reaction. Weiss huffed a bit as she looked over the paperwork for the weekly reports.

Another look over her schedule for the next few days showed that she had a Coliseum visit coming up in a few days, she was invited out by a noble that owned a renowned construction business that built many Villas and buildings through out the Kingdom. Weiss frowned at the thought; the Arena wasn't as charming without her favorite fighter. But there were appearances and customs unique to the Kingdom, and the Great Stone Coliseum was at the epicenter of it all. The stone and sands were soaked with rich culture, history, and relations – almost all of her business proposals and ventures started with a friendly outing to the Arena.

She scrunched up at the memory of seeing Ruby in the Arena last, Weiss had nearly choked on anxiety at the sight of the iron sword sticking out of the fighter's leg. It took everything in her to not jump out of her seat and yell in freight for the match to stop and for her to be attended to. No, instead she steeled herself as she watched the red Gladiator triumph once more for her Master. After the rest of the formalities were concluded for that match, Roman was swift to leave to see the extent of the damage.

Weiss never got around to finding out how bad the injuries were, but from rumors she's heard floating around, the Reaper was going to live to fight another day.

"Ruby…" The name slipped from her lips as her finger traced the scar over her eye, she remembered how gentle the Gladiator's lips were on the scar, on her neck, on her cheek, right above her naval…

She shook her head and snapped her thoughts out of the reverie that was Ruby Rose. It's been so long since she had stepped foot in the Torchwick Villa, between managing these business accounts and…. Well really just managing the business and these several partnerships, not to mention opening up a proper office with _subordinates_.

'Trusted subordinates.' Weiss bit her lip at the thought, 'I can write father and I can ask to bring in some people I'm familiar with. I know Velvet is looking for another project, perhaps I could ask her about a joint venture… Her and Coco are pretty famous here, not to mention Pyrrha would know of some good people…' She grabbed a blank parchment and made a list of things to do when it came to looking for employers.

Speaking of Pyrrha, it had been far too long since she had hung out with her friend.

"Klein!" Weiss called for her manservant, "If you're doing errands today, would mind delivering this message to Pyrrha? If it's too much trouble, then don't worry about it too much, I'll have a messenger sent to her later this week."

"It's no problem at all Lady Weiss," Klein grabbed the parchment, "If you don't mind, I'll be borrowing Blake to help carry some of the produce."

"No problem at all." Weiss smiled as she reached into the locked drawer of her desk, she grabbed the cube and tinkered with the distance she had set to it, just so that they annoying sound wouldn't go off once Blake left the Villa's premises – the slave collar was a genius invention that was made between a Mistral scholar and an Atlas scientist after the discovery of Dust. It helped cut down the amount of run away slaves in the Kingdom, not to mention the tracking capability, impossible to run away from.

And to force a wrong key inside or forcefully try to take it off, the collar would constrict impossibly tight around your neck until finally you either choked to death or your airway collapsed on itself.

She looked over the cube, Blake… A Faunus from Menagerie, someone who loved to read books, sit in the warm sun, enjoyed black tea with a bit of cream and honey, a slave. A slave that Weiss Schnee owned. She shook her head before burying her face into her palms, maybe it was time to give Blake her freedom, but the crimes she carried mandated that she serve 5 years of her life as a slave.

'Then I'll do my best to make these next 5 years comfortable for her.' Weiss thought with conviction.

* * *

Yang looked up at the night sky, tracing a constellation with her finger as she lay back on the deck of the vessel.

"It seems we managed to outrun it." Winter walked up to where her guest lay.

"I don't know…" Yang had a gut feeling despite the fact it had been a whole day since they saw the Grimm.

"How long have you been hunting Grimm now?" Winter leaned against the railing as she took a moment to gaze up at the night sky.

"Since I was 15, I'm 23 now." Yang responded easily, "I travelled a lot with Qrow and I got tired of him always leaving me in an Inn while he went out to hunt." She looked over, "How do you know Uncle Qrow?"

"The 5-year War," Winter replied.

"You don't look like you're a day over 25 though," Yang scrunched her face up as she attempted to do the math, Qrow was in his mid-forties at this point but the guy could easily do laps around the younger Huntsman.

Winter narrowed her eyes, "If you're done trying to figure out how _old_ I am, then I'll tell you how we met."

The blond stifled a laugh as she urged her to go on, it was rare to hear stories about the 5-year war, all Yang knew was that Qrow fought in it. Other than that, Qrow was pretty quiet on the details.

" _It's complicated and things get murky… really murky. And really complicated."_ Is how Qrow would always go about explaining it before clamming up for the rest of the day.

There was always a far off look on Qrow's face whenever he got to thinking about the war, and then one night Yang brought up Summer – Qrow tried, he really did, to talk about her, but the man's voice quaked and cracked and eventually he stopped trying and went to the bar.

Yang decided then to leave things at that.

"Your Uncle and his platoon, they over ran our position. I gave the order to retreat, and I chose to hang back to buy my men some time. I… I wanted to prove that I wasn't like some of the other up tight officers, first to flee from the sight of blood and the last to enter the fray." Winter looked down at the water, "Qrow had me cornered, he had every right to cut me down with that war scythe of his."

Yang sat up as she listened intently to the story, "Sergeant Qrow Branwen, ferocious Grim Reaper of Death, stared me down, his weapon was raised since he expected a platoon of Altesian soldiers, but instead he found me, a young dumb fool trying to be a hero."

"He let me go, he shouldered his scythe and had that cocky look on his face, he nudge his chin across as if to tell me to go on with my business. I couldn't say anything at the time, except a thank you." The officer thought it over, "And he said, 'You're one of the good ones, I can sense it.'"

"So that was Qrow," Yang smiled at the thought, "So he was pretty famous?"

"Just among the ground troops, really, him and his Scout Team were pretty well known for how well they were able to snuff out our positions and the fact that they could cut down squads of men on their own. They knew the forests and terrain like the back of their hands." Winter scrunched her brow, "There were three others, but I never met them on the battlefield, just Qrow. But I remember hearing stories about them, they called themselves 'STRQ'" Winter spelled out the word, "it was supposed to be a combination of their initials." She shrugged her shoulders, "That's all in the past now, I tried asking Qrow about them but he gets unusually broody about it."

Yang stood up, "STRQ?" She processed the information, "Three others…" It clicked in her head why Qrow was so quiet about her parents and Summer, "They fought in the war together…" She processed the information, "Summer, Tai, Raven, and Qrow." Yang muttered the names out loud. "What the fuck." It made sense.

"What?" Winter snapped up at the profanity, "What's wrong?"

"I just-"

Before the revelation could be thought on more, a deafening bang could be heard through the hull.

"It's here." Yang simply stated as she stood, she grabbed her sword and began to look the slab of metal ov

"Port side! Port side!" One of the sailors yelled as he looked over the railing for the Grimm.

"Get away! Get below deck!" Winter barked at the man.

The sailor stepped back from the railing, and not a moment too soon as the familiar white head of the serpent snapped out of the water before splashing back down to the ocean.

Yang squinted her eyes in the dim lighting, it was going to be hard to adjust. She looked up above and noticed that it was a full moon that night. "Turn off the deck lights."

"Are you mad?" Winter protested.

"It's a full moon, trust me, we'll see more without these." Yang quipped back, "Get Penny up here!"

"Already present!" The orange haired Lieutenant was at Yang's side, "The Captain is below deck keeping order, she said she'll personally over see the canons but makes no promises with how dark it is."

Winter nodded her head and proceeded to a tube that allowed people on deck to converse with those below, "Tell the Captain that she doesn't need to be shy with our canons, we've got more than enough to spare."

"Aye Major!" A voice shouted back.

"So what's the plan?" Winter looked around and could hear the splashes and screeches of scales against steel.

"Don't fall in the water and try to stab it's under belly." Yang put bluntly, "It's scales are solid and can break a blade, but the underbelly should be soft."

The sounds of canon fire from the starboard side.

Yang immediately ran to the port side with her sword ready, as if on cue the tail of the beast was raised out of the water, ready to plunge down on the deck. The Huntress swung her sword up to meet the tail and the vessel creaked at the amount of force that was being exerted. Penny and Winter both rushed to Yang's side in an attempt to bury their swords into the beast, both managed to sink their blades into it, but a terrible screech emitted.

"Tell me them to fire on the port side!" Winter roared to Penny who nodded and rushed to relay the command to those below deck.

A moment later and the canons fired.

"What are you doing?!" Winter yelled into the tub below deck, "How did you not see its tail?"

"It's hard to see!"

"Are your lights on?" Winter asked as it clicked why Yang wanted the deck lights off.

"Y-Yes."

"Turn them off! The moonlight will be plenty!"

"Ayye!"

The hull quaked once more and this time the canons went off on the port side once more, Yang's eye narrowed as the hairs on her neck stood up.

Left? Her eyes looked at the water's surface.

Right? She strained her ears for the sound of scales scratching against hull.

"Behind!" Yang called out as she dashed up the stairs of the stern of the vessel, her sword was caught in the teeth of the Sea Dragon. The monster tried to wrestle the giant weapon from the Huntress, but Yang was no stranger to such things. Instead she held on to the hilt with all her might.

Winter was perplexed, what kind of monstrous strength does this woman have?!

With her rapier, Winter stabbed the monster in the eye, remembering what Yang side about it's scales able to withstand their blades. Penny made quick work as a long slash could be seen beneath the Sea Dragon's neck. The monster shrieked once more and retreated into the water.

Yang looked the blade over and saw that it was slight scratched from the whole ordeal, "Maybe now he's starting to realize he's bitten off more than he can _chew_."

"How are you even able to-" Winter's rant was cut short by more canon fire and the men cheering below deck.

"Sounds like they scored a hit." Penny whistled.

Another shriek and the sound of water splashing over the deck brought Yang's attention to port side. She clearly saw the white head of the Grimm shining in the moonlight, with it's massive jaws gaping, it tried to bite into the steel hull. Yells and screams could be heard below, Winter's face went pale at the thought of the Grimm actually tearing through their ship as she saw the metal hull bend and warp at the sheer force. The Huntress wasted no time and went charging at the monster with Penny and Winter in tow. She pumped her legs as hard as she could as she approached a metal railing that would lead down to the lower deck where the monster was trying to puncture the hull, with a hard push off she sailed through the air with her sword raised overhead.

Winter's jaw dropped as she watched the great sword come down on the skull of the Grimm, a few cracks could be seen forming through that thick skull (though she was positive Yang had a thicker one). The Major was no slouch either as she hastened her pace, her aim was to stab the remaining eye of the dragon, but her mark missed since the beast whipped it's head back.

"Down!" Was all Winter could hear before a blond mass tackled her to the ground, exactly where she was standing the Grimm snapped it's jaws with such force. She watched as Penny attempted to stab it's underbelly, but the beast flicked it's head and managed to ram into the Lieutenant.

Who was now teetering over the rail and going straight into the dark depths, "Penny!" Winter struggled to push herself up, instead she heard a heavy thunk and Yang's sword was discarded on the ground next to her.

"I got her." Yang confidently said, in a flash she was at the railing pulling Penny to deck. The second move surprised her the most.

"YOU BLASTED FOOL!" Winter Schnee roared.

Yang Xiao Long had decided it was appropriate to jump on the head of the Grimm Sea Dragon. While holding on to the horns, she buried a dagger deeply into the socket that Winter had stabbed earlier, another deafening wail erupted erupted from the beast.

"FIRE THE CANONS!" The Huntress roared.

"Wait-" Winter was cut off by the sound of intense canon fire, "She's right there!" The Officer growled.

At the last possible second, Yang jumped off the writhing dragon head and caught hold of the railing. Winter and Penny were quick to pull her back on board.

A splash was heard and then silence.

It remained silent and tense for the next 10 minutes, Yang strained her ears for any sound or sign of the Grimm, but her instincts weren't running wild and the air no longer held the same intensity it did for the whole day.

"I think it's gone." Yang's voice was low.

"Do you think we killed it?" Penny questioned.

Yang shook her head, "When Grimm die, their bodies don't stay bodies… they sort of, turn to ashes." She explained, "I'll have to get in touch with a Huntsman Guild soon about that thing out here, it's rare for Sea Dragons to be actively hunting humans like that."

"There's a Guild in Mistral, my sister is looking to open up a office nearby one." Winter let out.

"Your sister?" Yang raised a brow.

"Younger sister, she's a merchant, I'm sure you've heard of the Schnee Merchant Company." The older Schnee explained.

"Wait, you're one of _the_ Schnees?"

"Have you not been paying attention this whole time?!"

"It just didn't click till now!"

Penny giggled at the two and proceeded to head below deck to tell the men it was safe.

* * *

"If you'll excuse me, Lady Weiss," There was a twinkle in his eye as he said her name, "I'll have to excuse myself for some unforeseen business." He was the noble who owned the construction company whose family was responsible for the construction of the Arena they sat in.

The messenger that had awkwardly approached the marble stands had a nervous look on his face while handing the message over. "What do you mean they want 10,000 in damages?!" He seethed to the younger man before him.

"I-I don't know, that's just what…" The conversation trailed off which then left Weiss confused and slightly worried.

"Ah, there was a building collapse on the outskirt of town, rumor has it that it was one of his projects that caused the collapse and so now people are suing." Pyrrha leaned over; there were advantages to having her Father as the Councilman of the People.

"Ah, that's really good to know actually." She mentally made a note to pullback on the possibility of helping to import building materials for that noble in particular, not with this lawsuit hanging over his head. A costly one at that.

"Thank you, for coming with me." Weiss let out a breath of relief, "You definitely made the trip a little bit better."

"Well, I know that matches aren't as fun when your favorite fighter isn't around." A teasing glint could be seen in Pyrrha's eyes.

Weiss remained quiet at the comment, her blue eyes looking towards the ground despite the roar of crowd at the sight of some slave fighting a tiger.

"W-Weiss, I was just joking." Pyrrha called out to her friend.

"I know you are," Weiss got up to leave the box, her reason for being there gone. Pyrrha stood to follow her down and into the corridors that would eventually lead them outside. "It's just, I've been thinking about her a lot lately."

Pyrrha narrowed her eyes, "Thinking about her how?"

"Pyrrha, I went back to Roman's to _spend the night_ and… well, I went because something felt off about her and Oum… she…" Weiss took a look around to make sure no one else was within in earshot, "She seemed terrified of Roman, but she couldn't tell me." She whispered.

"Does Roman know that you… you care about her?" Pyrrha also took the time to look around, "Actually, let's go back to your Villa and we'll chat."

"Agreed."

Without saying much else the two left the Arena and took a nearby carriage to Weiss' Villa, it was just Klein and Blake getting food prepared for dinner, a nice porridge is what Klein mentioned that morning.

"Oh, Lady Weiss, I wasn't expecting you back so soon." Klein greeted Pyrrha with a bow of his head.

"It's no problem at all, we'll be talking in the parlor if you wouldn't mind to bring out some tea." Weiss instructed as the two got situated around the hearth.

"So earlier, does he know?" Pyrrha asked one more time.

"No, I've been careful not to show too much favor and both times I've… slept with Ruby it's because Roman insisted both times, though the second time I will say I led the conversation to that." Weiss was a bit shy on the subject.

"Good," Pyrrha leaned back in her chair.

"Ruby… Ruby mentioned the same thing, don't show weakness around him." Weiss stared into the hearth, "Like she wanted to protect me from him."

"He… despite the relationship he has with my family and everyone around him, I don't trust him." The Mistrali hero let loose her thoughts, "I've heard rumors of his back door dealings, what he does in the shadows to get what he wants, who he has paid off to keep things quiet – but they're all rumors, no proof to show for it really." Pyrrha had done her own digging on Torchwick after her conversation with Oobleck, she trusted the scholar's instinct so when he said of his suspicions of Roman – she looked into it.

"Then why do you still deal with him?" Weiss questioned.

"Same reason you do, it's a matter of connections and appearances. Roman has done well to seat himself at the epicenter of it all." The Mistrali gladiator explained, "And he's done well to help out and support my father in the past, especially when it comes around to re-election time for his Seat at the Council, but still…"

"There's just something about him unsettling." Weiss finished for her, "I understand what you mean."

"Weiss, there's something that you should know…" Pyrrha bit her lip at the thought, "Just, you can't tell anyone, please."

"Pyrrha, what's wrong?" She was perplexed at Pyrrha's sudden shift in mood.

"Weiss, I think Ruby is from Vale."

The Merchant remained silent as she processed the information, "That's – That's fantastic, isn't it? Why hasn't she been freed yet?" She practically stood in her seat.

"Weiss!" Pyrrha scolded, "You can't tell anyone, no one! We haven't been able to free her because, well, there's a complication. Her paperwork… or rather lack of paperwork."

"What do you mean?"

"There was no mention of Ruby in the Office of Official records, not even a receipt to show that she was purchased." Pyrrha explained, "There's a few others in the same boat, but at least there's mention of their names in other logs books, but for Ruby – it's as if she doesn't exist."

"So did someone just not file something correctly?" Weiss was perplexed, they should let her go if there's no proof of her being a slave. "They should just let her go if there's no mention of her purchase."

"That's the thing, we tried that approach a few times with a few other slave owners who were suspected of hoarding prisoners, but they demanded concrete proof – or else go to court for trying to _steal_ their _property_." She looked into the flames, "They – Oobleck cautioned that we don't approach Roman about Ruby, especially after he told that story about how she was a wanderer that murdered another in our kingdom. Which I think now is a false tale that he spun."

"How did you find out she was from Vale?" She was curious.

Pyrrha laughed, "The match I had with her, in Mistral we salute like so." A crisp salute was presented and her finger barely touched her temple, "In Vale, they salute with a fist against their chest." She demonstrated it to show the difference between the two. "I saw it and Jaune confirmed it."

"So Jaune, he's going to come back with proof, right?" Weiss asked tentatively, "When will he be back?"

"Not for a while, he wrote that he might not make it back till February now."

"That's nearly two months from now!" Weiss exclaimed, "You saw what happened to her! What's been happening to her, Roman intends to run her into the ground!"

"Weiss, I know – I've been taking extra care to keep an eye on everyone, I visited Roman the other day for some gambling and light talks. Ruby is healing up alright, she can barely walk, but Roman mentioned that Miltiades has expectations for her to make a full recovery."

"She was stabbed in the leg." The Merchant was incredulous, "She's going to fight again?"

"Yes." Pyrrha dead panned, "At least another month and she'll be fine, apparently Ruby heals fast…"

Weiss remembered all the scars that decorated the Gladiator's body, how she tried to kiss every one of them away.

"Weiss, it's important not to tell anyone about this, and it's vital that you don't push the matter further." She explained, "I just… it's just a lot, right now. And I see that you genuinely worry for her, I really do."

"I do," Weiss frowned at the thought, "Pyrrha, she's really just a gentle person. I- the way she looks at me when we were alone, it's like she's so vulnerable." Now those silver eyes were haunting her thoughts.

"Why not go visit her?" Pyrrha suggested, "Torchwick is throwing a party tomorrow night, I was invited but I didn't have much intention to go."

"I.. I don't want to be the only one- and then it's just so- I…" Words escaped the usually sharp-tongued merchant.

" _I insist."_ Pyrrha wore a sly grin at the phrase.

* * *

"Fuck, this is great." Sun eased himself into the warm water, if there was one upside to the Torchwick parties it would always be the warm clean baths.

"Urk." A small squeak was a tell tale sign that his friend had came in and was trying to pull her self into the bath.

"I still don't like the idea of you having to be paraded around." The Faunus sighed as he stood to his full height to help Ruby into the big stone bath.

"I get to sit, thank Oum for Lady Miltiades." Ruby wrapped an arm around Sun's neck and he made easy to work to help ease her into the bath. "Neptune's been joining us a lot at these things, think Roman will let him move into one of the rooms?"

"If I do well the next few matches, then yes." The blue haired devil himself came in with two prospects in trail behind him, "Seems like there's a demonstration tonight." He unwrapped the towel around his waist and proceeded to step into the tub.

The other two prospects were about to scramble into the warm water, but a sharp whistle from Sun stopped the two.

"Wait." He simply stated, the two prospects sat off to the side as the three took their time.

"Brings back memories, doesn't it?" Sun smirked at the Gladiator, "Now here you are, quickly becoming one of Roman's favorites."

"Took long enough." Neptune chuckled at the memory.

"You two done flirting? Ruby joked, Sun responded by splashing some water at her.

"If someone would stop being such a gimp, then I could have an actual sparring partner." Sun joked.

"Hey! I've been getting better." Neptune pointed out, "I did pretty well during that Taming of the Beast."

"Those are just tigers though, wait till you fight a Grimm." Sun's eyes flashed, "But as for sparring, I've been knocking you straight on your ass this whole time. Need an actual challenge for once."

"There are some other gladiators you could always spar with if you're that _offended_ by my skills." Neptune quipped back as he grabbed a washcloth to scrub himself with.

"Yeah, but you really need the help."

Ruby chuckled loudly at Sun's comeback, "Just wait until I'm back in shape, I'll show you how to handle them in the Arena."

"Oh trust me, I believe you plenty on that _Reaper."_ He stressed the title teasingly and this time Ruby splashed water in his direction.

"If Lady Miltiades was willing and Octavia wouldn't nag my ear off, then I guarantee that I could probably take those two on." She motioned to the prospects.

"With or without that walking stick?" Sun motioned to the stick set down on the wall.

"Without, I'll use my sword as a cane if I have to." Ruby joked.

"Lady Melanie is waiting for you three, hurry up." Junior's voice echoed from the doorway.

"At once, sir." Ruby responded to the head guard.

"It was fun while it lasted," Sun sighed as he stood up to his full height, "Don't worry about standing Rubes, I can carry you out." His arms was already hooked underneath the girl's legs before she could protest, "Don't think I can't hear you moaning in pain in the morning about your leg." He chuckled as he carefully stepped out of the tub with Ruby in his arms.

Neptune watched the dynamic between the two most senior Gladiators under House Torchwick, they were close, like a pair of siblings, just comfortable being nude and trying to kill things every day. He sighed at the thought, he wasn't much different, Torchwick's training took away whatever body shyness or whatever comforts you had left. You were literally stripped down of everything and built back up into what Torchwick wanted you to be.

Which was a victor, a champion, a Gladiator.

"Come on Neptune, let's not piss off Lady Melanie." Sun called over his shoulder as he walked at Ruby's pace down the hall, both toweled off hastily and had it resting around their shoulders.

"Coming!" He called out, he took a look at the two prospects and remembered what it was like when he went through, "Make sure you wash thoroughly." Was all he could say.

You can't be soft here forever.

* * *

"It's him." Weiss exclaimed as she watched the demonstration, she had indulged in a few cups of wine and mingled about with the other nobles along with Pyrrha. To her delight, Velvet was present with Fox Alistair for the little soiree and the two were able to chat a bit about the possibility of Velvet coming to work with Weiss at her new office.

"Who?" Velvet questioned, she was in awe at the footwork the one with the trident did as he easily deflected both of the prospects at once.

"She means the blue haired one with the trident, Neptune." Pyrrha smiled as she saw how well disciplined Neptune's form is, "A while ago he was still pretty green."

"Now he's the one at the center of these little demonstrations." Weiss commented as she watched him move, she amazed at how far the slave had come from being the reason Ruby and the others were punished to a well-disciplined fighter.

A smile played out on her lips as she noticed the look of approval on Ruby's face while she sat off to the side in her ornate armor. Of course, the armor bore scratches, nicks, and dings from her bout with Pyrrha. But Ruby liked the way the armor looked now – battle tested, she preferred it that way. She leaned forward on the wooden stool to observe the newer Gladiator's next couple of moves.

Neptune easily got one of his opponents on his back and held the other at his trident's tip, his face was stone and spoke of ill should the prospect try to move.

"Well done, King of the Seas." Roman applauded the spectacle, his attention turning back towards the cheering crowd, "If everyone is content there wine for everyone and of course _service_ available for those who are reeling from the biting cold

"I could have taken them down in half the time." Sun murmured.

"Without the cane." Ruby whispered back, the two suppressed a smile at the thought. She looked back out at the crowd and at once a fire seemed to be set alight within her.

Weiss swallowed as those hawk-like eyes gazed down upon her, a certain hunger arose within her at the sight – and the cape, she wanted to be wrapped up in just the cape. She kept her composure on those silver eyes; unconsciously she ran her hand across her scar out of habit. She noticed immediately the Gladiator's gaze on her hand and how it followed. Purposefully, she dragged her hand down her collarbone and then down the crevice between her cleavage that her dress showed off.

Ruby clenched and unclenched her jaw at the sight, she felt like a lion being dangled a savory slab of meat.

"Sun, you've been requested, the usual room upstairs if you will." Roman instructed, he turned to Neptune, "And you, you will attend to the group of women over there – I trust you can hold a cask of wine and ensure they stay entertained?" His green eyes were held steady on the Gladiator.

"With pleasure, Master Torchwick." Neptune bowed his head to the slave master.

"What I like to hear." Roman smiled, "And dear Red." His gaze was full of mirth.

"No need for the pleasantries, I don't mind grabbing her for myself, if you will." From behind Roman a second figure approached the podium where the three had been standing all night.

"Lady Fall." The name escaped Ruby's lips, she was careful not to look back at the confused gaze that belonged to Weiss.

"Red." The nickname fell off her lips like velvet, "I've missed you so much." A hand ran down the front of the armor and then at the top of her trousers, "Did you miss me?"

"I always do, Lady Fall." Ruby's automatic response.

"Please Red, show me that you do." Ember eyes bore into those cold-slated ones, once more Ruby forced herself not to look at Weiss.

Without hesitation, she planted a chaste kiss on Cinder's lips, right there in the middle of the room. A few hushed whispers could be heard about how _bold and simply scandalous_ Lady Cinder Fall, daughter of Councilman Salem was being.

"But that is simply part of her charm, is it not?" A man swooned at the sight.

Cinder placed a hand at the back of Gladiator's neck, she grabbed at the tuft of hair there in order to pull the Gladiator closer. The slave complied and kissed back harder. "That's it for the show, if you want your own, well, you know who to talk to." She winked towards her friend Roman who chuckled at the comment as Ruby quickly grabbed her cane to follow after Cinder.

The Fall daughter strutted past Weiss, a rather triumphant grin on her face, "I don't like sharing my favorite toys." She simply stated as she went past.

Ruby nearly tripped when she heard the words slip out of Cinder's mouth while Weiss bit back an insult and kept a steady appearance.

For once, Weiss Schnee felt like she was in hot water.

* * *

Roman watched with uncaring eyes as the red slave hobbled across the courtyard in the dead of the winter night. He could see clouds form from her breathing as she struggled against the biting cold and to her quarters where there would be a hearth that may need to be lit still.

"No late night cuddling?" Roman joked as he turned around to see his gracious houseguest clad in a loose silk robe.

"Not tonight, rather, I wanted to talk a little bit of business." Cinder sat on a plush seat and leaned her weight against it, "First thing, your Wilding is in – Mercury should have taken him tonight to meet Adam." She inspected her nails, "He gets along well with my other slaves, apparently."

"I wouldn't doubt it, the big oaf has a disgustingly huge heart." He commented, "And?"

"We have a list of all the nobles whose homes are infiltrated, those who are loyal to _our cause_ will be warned appropriately." She crossed her legs and spotted a cask of wine and an empty cup next to it, she poured herself a cup to quench her thirst. "Interestingly, your up and coming Merchant friend has been compromised."

"Hm? And why should I be concerned with Weiss Schnee?" In all honesty, he got along a lot better with Jacques, but he wasn't the one here running what would soon be a most powerful business that has the capability to bring the Kingdom to it's knees with the right amount of direction.

"Did you not see her salivating over Red?" Cinder smirked, "Not to mention I saw the dear Snowflake glaring daggers at me when I kissed Red in the middle of the room."

"What do you mean?" He narrowed his eyes.

"She's head over heels, and I would say Red feels the same way." She drank from the cup.

"Really now?" Roman was absolutely surprised by the development, "Hm."

"What's on your mind Ro?" She liked that look on his face, usually meant that he was up to no good.

"I could use a little bit more gold lien."

* * *

 **A/N:**

Well, it is the holidays.

Cheers to double updates.

DevilRed


	13. Bittersweet

"Use your legs, not just your arms, that's how we generate power." The seasoned voice instructed. It was a forgotten underground alcove that was the base of operations for the slaves.

"Got it." The young man confirmed as he went through the motion again with his practice blade.

A silver haired slave, absent of his collar, approached the Wilding, "We have to go, she'll be coming back soon." Mercury warned as he handed Nadir the collar.

The Gladiator took a long look at the collar before clipping it back around his neck, "So close." He muttered.

"We'll get there one day." Adam stood at the alcove's exit, "You, my friend, are invaluable to our cause." He shook the fellow slave's hand.

"I only want to see my friends walk free," Nadir's gaze fell to the ground, "They don't deserve this life any longer, they're good people." He thought mostly of Ruby, beaten down to depths not even he could relate to and how each time she had painstakingly found the strength to get back up again and again.

How much more could the little warrior take before she no longer can stand up again?

He didn't want to know, not now, not ever.

"We all do, that's why this is necessary – they will pay for everything that they have stripped from us." There was a strong conviction in his voice that Nadir admired, but through it all he could see the absolute detest the Faunus held for the nobles of Mistral. Nadir was no fool, he knew it was going to be bloody, but as long as he could get his friends out, he didn't care about the means.

"Until next time then." Nadir smiled to the leader of the cause.

"You fit in well." Mercury let out. _A little too well._

"And I didn't take you to be the type to revolt." The Wilding quipped back.

"I've got my morals too, and I know when I need to push back." The stroll back to Fall Villa was uneventful, Nadir found it ridiculous at how easy it was to slip in and out of the compound. Something that would be quite the impossible feat to do in the Torchwick Villa.

* * *

Polished stone and dark wood is what made up port, or _mega port_ is what Yang wanted to call it. There were huge galleons docked in as well as the dozens upon dozens of smaller vessels and boats that lined piers. And then the sheer amount of people as carts and wagons filled with cargo and packages were pushed along while citizens scampered about from stall to stall. The goods were plentiful and diverse, she recognized things from Vacuo and the signature soft cotton that could be found all over Vale.

A blond whistled at the magnificent sight.

"Well, this is where I'll see you guys around then." Yang had her bag slung over her shoulder, the monstrous sword was wrapped up to make it a little less conspicuous while moving around time.

"Wait." Winter called out from below deck, she was overseeing some things below deck with the Captain in terms of timing.

"Major." Yang beamed at the officer, "What can I do you for?"

"You helped us out a lot out there." Winter motioned to steel ship, there was some dents in the hull from the Grimm encounter, but they determined that she was still seaworthy. "I mentioned my sister living here, do you have anything set up in terms of sleeping arrangements?"

Yang raised a brow at the suggestion, but figured she shouldn't look a gift horse in the mouth. "I was just gonna crash at an Inn somewhere."

"Weiss has an accommodating Villa, I'm sure she wouldn't mind. It's just her, Klein, and a slave she purchased." Winter recalled from what her younger sister wrote.

"A slave?" Yang was no stranger to the concept, but since Vale has all but abolished slavery in name and Vacuo was more of a country for bandits and rough riders, it was still intriguing to see it face to face.

"Does that bother you?" Winter questioned.

Yang shook her head, "Not so much bothered by it as I am intrigued, but if you insist, I'm open to the idea of free room and board."

"It'll definitely be interesting to see you meet my sister." Winter laughed at the thought.

"You make it sound like you're getting ready to drop a Grimm on her." Yang laughed as she tried to imagine what her sister Weiss was like, "How long are you staying in port for?" She set her bag down and sat up against the railing.

"Actually, we'll shove out in the morning." Winter looked the port over and noted a few vessels that bore the signature Schnee emblem on the sides, a slight smile could be seen on her face at the sight.

"So soon?" Yang was surprised, "Why not a few more days?"

"It's better if we make it back to Atlas sooner rather than later," She motioned to sailors and soldiers alike, "A lot of these men haven't been home in months and I don't have much official business here other than to refuel and restock our supplies."

Yang nodded her head in understanding at the sentiment, "Qrow was right about you." She smiled.

Winter rolled her eyes at the cheeky grin, "It'll be a while before I'm ready to go, why don't you take a look around port. I'm sure you can help entertain my men for a bit."

"Don't have to tell me twice." Yang set her sword and bag off to the side before disembarking from the vessel. Her eyes danced around the several stalls and stores set up around port. Mistral was by far the busiest and biggest port she had seen in all of Remnant.

Yang smirked as she caught sight of the signature orange short hair of Lieutenant Penny Polendina with some of the Altesian men. From the looks of it they were having a really good time rough housing about at the pub they were situated in.

In a stall not far off was a certain manservant and Faunus slave as they looked over the several produce that was laid out in front of imported fruit and vegetables made the stall look very vibrant and appealing with it's different colors, shapes, and sizes sorted out into different crates. Blake wondered how some of the vegetables would taste if they were tossed into a salad with some fresh tuna she was eyeing from a fisherman a few more stalls down.

"Blake, are mangos in season right now?" Klein was looking over the fruit as he mulled the decision over.

Blake shook her head, "Best time to eat them is in the summer, they're bitter in the winter." The fruit was a staple in Menagerie.

"Thank you for that." Klein put the fruit down and proceeded along the row of stalls, Blake hummed to herself, it wasn't too cold that day, thankfully and the sun was out and the wind wasn't all that harsh.

Till suddenly, the hairs on her neck stood on end, and a _chair_ from a pub, _two stalls over_ came flying straight towards her and Klein.

"Klein!" Blake called as she pulled the man aside, the chair crashed into the ground and cracked itself in half. A yell could be heard from the pub and a stream of white uniformed men came running out haphazardly with huge smiles on their faces.

"You get out too! You damned trouble maker!"

A giggling blond came running out with an orange haired woman who wore the same white uniform as the other men. A quick nod from the blond to her uniformed companion and the two went separate ways.

"What in the world…" Klein was perplexed, "Those are Atlas sailors!" He exclaimed, "Winter must be in town."

He looked around for any sign of an Atlas ship, but in the midst of it all he couldn't tell. He supposed that they would have to wait until Winter herself came by to the Villa. "Looks like I should buy more food then." He hummed to himself as he looked over the produce, thinking if they should stop by a butcher and make a plump roast.

Blake nodded her head as she watched the blond stroll straight through them, as if she wasn't part of the reason a chair had almost smacked her and Klein dead on if she wasn't paying attention.

"See something you like?" The voice snapped her out of her thoughts.

Blake hadn't realized that she was staring.

"I was just trying to figure out why and how a bar chair managed to fly 20 feet this direction." She deadpanned and pointed towards the broken chair.

The Faunus looked her over, long brown coat with a high collar that was buttoned up for the colder weather and black breaches tucked into her calf high boots. She spotted a dagger at her side and the tell tale signs of plates could be seen underneath her clothing. 'A hire sword, maybe?' Blake thought.

"Well, someone thought it would be a good idea to start an old fashioned bar fight, but before the fight could begin the chair that a certain someone was about to swing _slipped_ out of their hands."

Blake blinked, did she just hear her right? The _chair slipped out of their hands_ , "And do you happen to know the culprit?"

The blond shrugged, "Can't say I do."

"Would it possibly be you?" She raised a brow at the devil-may-care attitude the stranger had.

"Would that bother you, kitty cat?" A charming smile. "Or are you hoping that it was me?"

The Faunus nearly growled at the comment, "It's Blake."

"Yang." That infuriating smile once more, "I didn't mean anything by it, but I do think your ears are really cute." She looked Blake over as she wore breeches and a long sleeve tunic to accommodate the cold, a far cry from the loose dress that Blake had grown accustomed to wearing in the warmer months. "That's an interesting necklace there."

Blake frowned immediately as she stepped back, "It's not… a necklace."

"What is it?" Yang cocked her head to the side.

"It's a collar. Is this your first time seeing a slave?" Blake looked away.

"Well, no. I just never had seen the collar before." She was curious about the contraption. "Does it… hurt?" There was genuine look of concern as Yang looked the Faunus over.

"N-No, it doesn't..."

"If you're ready Blake, we can go to the butcher now." Yang caught sight of the elderly gentleman standing a ways away.

"Your master?" Yang's voice was low, there was a slight look of concern on her face. She's seen old men with beautiful young women in captivity and it was never anything chivalrous in her experience.

Blake shook her head, touched by the protective response of this _Yang_ , "My real master is busy running her empire." She winked as she walked away with Klein, Yang could see now that the old man was harmless.

Yang Xiao-Long watched the slave walk away, lilac eyes hanging on every step she took. "Definitely has some claws tucked away in there." The swing in her hips was a nice touch.

"Who was that?" Klein asked as they strolled through the crowds.

"Some one that likes to start bar fights." Blake shrugged, those eyes and charming smile still fresh on her mind.

* * *

Yang looked about the cart, Penny was hanging back on the ship with the Captain and the rest of the outfit back at port. The tight streets of the city were beginning to open up to the view of Villas that varied in size. Each one was either big or bigger, according to Yang, they were spread out as each Villa had it's own plot of land that it was situated on.

"They manage to keep all this inside stone walls?" Yang was impressed by it all.

Winter nodded, "Mistral profits heavily from the slave trade, from what I understand it doesn't take much for them to expand their walls."

"The sheer landmass and amount of people make Vale look so tiny." Yang whistled as they were trotting down the dirt road, "And your sister owns one of these Villas?"

"And she's getting ready to open up a headquarters soon since business has expanded so much." The older Schnee added on.

"She sounds like a go getter, reminds me of someone I met recently." Yang eyed her companion.

"You definitely are Qrow's niece." Winter smirked.

"We're getting closer to the Schnee Villa," The cart driver called behind them, the sun was beginning to set and the pair was starting to get a little hungry.

"About time," Yang hummed merrily.

The Villa was large, easily bigger than most Inns that Yang had stayed in during her travels. The orchard trees in front were a nice touch to the neatly trimmed walk way. The Villa was surrounded by it's own stonewall and wooden gate that was left open during the day and locked up at night.

"It seems Weiss has done well for herself." Winter commented, she reached in her lien pouch to pull something out for the driver, but Yang already beat her to it.

"It's the least I could do, since you're about to do me a favor." The Huntress explained, she waved the cart off while Winter walked to approach the door.

"Lady Winter, it's been far too long." A familiar voice rang out, but Yang couldn't quite put her finger on where she had heard the voice before.

"Klein, I hope Weiss hasn't driven you up the wall." She patted the man's shoulder and took a step in.

Once Yang got a good look at the man, that's when it dawned on her, "You were at the port today, with the Faunus, Blake."

"My, you're the one who likes to start bar fights?" He looked the stranger over, "And who might this be?"

Winter was surprised that the two had already met, "You met Klein?"

"He was outside the pub that we got kicked out of." Yang rubbed the back of her head once she saw Winter's eyes flash, "Did that bit of news not make it to you?"

"No, it did not, but believe I will have a word about discipline and upholding an image when I get back tomorrow." She pinched the nose of her bridge, "Was Penny there?"

Yang looked to the ground, Penny was actually the one who tried to swing the chair and let it slip from her hands, "Of course not."

"Uh-huh." Winter sighed, she was glad Penny was enjoying herself, maybe a little too much, "Anyways Klein." She cleared her throat, "This is Yang Xiao Long, she's a Huntress, and a good one at that. She saved us on our voyage across the water to here."

"It was a group effort, that canon fire was what scared it off in the end." Yang shook her head, "No way I could have done that on my own."

"Lady Xiao-"

"Just Yang is fine, I'm not one for fancy titles. Just an average person trying to make a living in the world." She shook the manservant's out stretched hand, "And it's nice to properly meet you, Klein."

"Like wise, Yang." He smiled, he could see now why Winter had taken to the young woman.

"Where's my sister?" Winter questioned as she took a peek inside the Villa. Everything was prim and proper and the décor reminded her a bit of Atlas. "I was hoping my… friend here could perhaps stay with Weiss while she visits."

"She's in the study with Blake going through some paperwork." Klein motioned to the room across the parlor.

"The Faunus that's educated, correct?" Winter looked to Klein for conformation, "Weiss mentioned that she was, _injured_ upon her arrival." She put it lightly, Weiss confessed that she had never seen such a mistreated or abused state of a person in her life. "Has she recovered well?" Winter also didn't share the same views upon slaves as their father did.

"She has." Klein nodded, "If you'll excuse me, I have a roast to attend to that we may all eat for dinner." He took his leave and left the two to their own devices.

Winter walked purposefully and rapt her knuckles on the door once but very loudly, it was silent on the other end but the elder Schnee walked in anyway. She knew that Weiss knew who it was, Winter was the only one to every knock that way.

"Winter." Weiss gasped as she stood from her desk.

"Weiss." The elder Schnee smiled as she wrapped her arms around Weiss for a quick hug, "How are you?"

"Much better now that you're here." The younger sister smiled brightly, "Klein mentioned he saw some Atlas uniforms today by the pier and I've been anxious ever since."

"I wish we could have come sooner, but I had to help inspect the hull before I left – you wouldn't believe the journey we had. Pirates tried to board us, and then shortly after we encountered a Grimm Sea Dragon." Her tone was exasperated.

"Should have seen your sister, she could have fought off the hoard of pirates on her own and charged straight on against the Grimm." Yang crossed her arms proudly as she leaned against the doorway.

"No way." Blake piped up, though a part of her regretted it when she saw Winter's eyes rest on her collar, but the woman paid no mind to it as a slight smirk grew on her face instead at the Faunus' reaction.

"What is it, Blake?" Weiss was a bit concerned at the small out burst.

"It seems Klein and Blake ran into Yang earlier, after causing some commotion at the pub there." Winter explained sheepishly.

" _That was you?!"_ Weiss practically shrieked, "You almost took out both Blake and Klein with that irresponsible stunt, what if it was someone else?"

"Oh geeze." Yang held up her hands, "It was an accident," She took a few steps back as she watched the Merchant march over to her, finger pointed.

"Do you know how invaluable they are to me? Do you know-"

"Alright, Weiss, I think she gets the point." Winter interjected, she could feel Yang's cold sweat from where she stood, "She's been a handful mostly due to my _Lieutenant_ ," She narrowed her eyes at the Huntress who once again looked to the ground, refusing to instigate her orange haired friend, "Who was probably there to help pour fuel to the flame."

"You mean Penny? _Penny was at a bar?"_ Weiss tried to imagine the mild manner girl at a bar.

"She could drink half the outfit under the table, I watched it happen in Menagerie." Yang added, Blake perked up at the mention of Menagerie.

"Penny drinks?!" Weiss had an incredulous stare, Winter merely laughed at her sister's reaction.

"Pretty sure she picked that up from the men, her and Yang met about a week ago while we were in port in Menagerie and they've been interesting together to say the least." Winter sighed at the thought, "But I digress, I actually have a favor to ask."

"What is it?" Weiss was excited, her older sister rarely asked anything of her.

"I was wondering if you could allow Yang to stay here while she's on vacation in the Kingdom."

Winter crossed her arms as she observed the situation; she expected the long silence since this was Yang that she had just _dropped_ on Weiss.

Blake was shooting eyes back and forth between Weiss and Yang.

Weiss' mouth hung open as she stared between her sister and Yang.

And Yang simply stood there, a goofy look on her face as she looked to Winter for assistance.

"You want me to let this _bar fighting buffoon_ to stay here?"

"Who are you calling a buffoon, Princess?" Yang wasn't going to back down against the insult.

"Well, I'm just wondering how throwing a chair around in public is appropriate behavior."

"At least I don't have to worry about getting a splinter when I do."

Winter smiled to herself as she watched the two go at it, she expected as much to happen between the two. After to getting to know Yang she knew that this woman would be the oil to Weiss' water.

"Why do I get the feeling you planned all this?" Blake asked to Winter.

"This couldn't have gone better even if I did."

The evening went on after Winter defused the situation between the two and some civil conversation took place. The elder Schnee told the story about the pirates and the Grimm attack from start to finish with Yang interjecting with juicier bits to keep things entertaining, Blake certainly appreciated the Huntress' enthusiasm when she went on to talk about the Grimm Sea Dragon.

Klein eventually called everyone to dinner and soon the evening turned to night. Yang was allowed to stay in one of the spare quarters that Klein had spruced up a bit with Blake's help, once the whole Villa had turned into bed it was just Winter and Weiss.

The two sisters sat around the hearth, both with a cup of tea in hand.

"On a serious note, can Yang stay here?" Winter pressed again, "My men owes her their lives, I owe her my life – despite what she said, she took on that beast head on with no hesitation what so ever." She sipped her cup thoughtfully, a serious look on her face as she eyed Weiss.

"I know you're not the type to keep bad company," Weiss sighed, "And yes, she can stay while she's here. If you think that much of her, then how can I refuse?"

"It'll be a good change of pace." She reasoned, "Sounds like you might need it from all those reports and paperwork you're behind on."

"The sooner I can get the office open the better." Weiss was close, they had the space, but now they needed the people and it helped that Velvet and some of her people were on board.

"I'm glad." Winter looked down at the tea, "Plus, I would like to have Yang around here too." She looked up stairs, "She's strong, Weiss, and has good sense. I could trust my life in her hands if it comes down to it and I think it's time you start having some protection around with your growing business. With success comes rivalry, I would be surprised if you _didn't_ have a few people plotting against you."

The thought had crossed Weiss mind a few times, but the thought of putting her safety in someone else's hands that she wasn't familiar with did not settle well with her. "I'll think it over some more, but do you really have to leave in the morning?" A slight plea.

"I don't have much official business here, and the men have been away from home too long. But I promise to plan a proper trip back here, while I'm on leave." Winter set her tea down and leaned back in her chair, Weiss visibly perked up at the thought of her sister coming back on a real vacation. "So what else has been going on?" A light smile.

Weiss responded joyously and recited some of her more successful ventures and some of the parties she had attended, Winter didn't miss the way Weiss' face would light up once she started talking about someone who went by the name of the Reaper and some of the glorious matches that the Gladiator had taken part of and triumphed.

Winter was glad that Weiss was enjoying herself out here and away from Jacques.

* * *

The stifling collar was laying out somewhere near the bed, Mercury stretched his limbs out as he felt his form sink further into the luxurious bedding. Beside him, he watched Emerald trace fine lines along their _Mistress_ as a content smile played out on her lips. He watched intently as her deft hands combed through Emerald's hair, a sigh could be heard as she scratched lightly at her scalp.

A rare genuine smile graced his lips, he would do anything in order to keep this going.

"Something on your mind, Merc?" Cinder looked over at her supposed slave.

"Nothing much, just some business." He dashed the thought, "A concern and a brewing problem." He rolled over on his side to get a better look at Mistress Fall, "Nadir, he's going to be a problem for us." Mercury reported, although his ton still remained languid after the bit of exercise he went through.

"He's just a slave." Cinder dismissed.

"Not just any slave, he's a Torchwick _Gladiator_ , he's been helping to train the rebel slaves and it's been showing. They're getting stronger and most of all, _they like him."_

"They like him better than you?" Cinder smirked at the notion, Emerald giggled at the light jest.

Mercury rolled his eyes, "Yes they do, but what I'm saying is that if we go ahead with our plan to kill the bull Faunus in the middle of the chaos, then whatever remaining forces will likely look to Nadir to lead them instead of me." He played with the sheets, "I won't be able to lead them if that's the case and Nadir will most certainly continue down that fool's path."

"That won't do…" She looked down at Emerald who remained content with staying snuggled into her Mistress' side. "Did we get everything we need out of having him around?"

"For the most part, the biggest one was just trying to gain the slave's trust and getting that inside information on who they had infiltrated, as well as their specific battle plans for when the time comes."

"We've made moves on informing those loyal about the infiltration, they're planning to plus up their guards in the incoming months." Cinder thought aloud, "Roman is moving funds and men appropriately - it's definitely been a lot easier to set our plans in motion with him on board to do the footwork."

"It helps that the string of robberies and murders by Adam's group has the Kingdom paranoid, the plus up of private guards shouldn't raise too much suspicions." Mercury smiled to himself at how well things were coming together. "How has your Mother been fairing?"

"She's been successful in gathering support," Cinder replied coolly, "Haizel Rainhart, the war hero, was more than happy to comply – the man loves his wars."

"Can we not talk about work in bed?" Emerald pushed herself off.

"Well, with our new guest this is the only place I can discuss business." Mercury smirked.

"I believe you were the one who volunteered to be the slave." She teased as she leaned forward to the Fall champion, she pointed a finger at his chest accusingly.

"Just because I don't think you'd survive without these comforts for too long." He shot back, he planted a sweet kiss on her cheek, " _Mistress"_ A rather dark gaze encompassed his face.

"Well you have been such a good boy." Cinder Fall complied and captured the slave's lips with her own.

* * *

Weiss Schnee clutched at the receipt in hand and a few other papers before replacing them back into her bag. Roman Torchwick sent word that there was a discrepancy in his books about his 3% cut on some of the deals he had helped broker during the company's initial start up.

Weiss racked her brain as she tried to think about what was off exactly, she had Klein and even Velvet help double check the books, but it was all the same outcome regardless.

'There may be a mistake in his book keeping.' Was what Weiss thought as she left the carriage to enter the Torchwick Villa.

"Ah, Weiss." Roman greeted her warmly, his parlor was very warm from the winter weather outside, a few house slaves quickly set out some wine and snacks on the polished table before her. "So glad you had time to make it out here."

"Roman." Weiss returned the courtesy as she smoothed out her dress and took off the warm shawl she had over her shoulder for the ride over, "Other than the discrepancies, how have you been doing?" She sipped the wine, it was a nice port wine, something that was a vintage out of Menagerie.

"Swimmingly," His usual charming self as a house slave poured a cup for himself, "Despite Bolin and Nadir stepping down from the mantle of being a Torchwick Gladiator my others in the crop have been filling in quiet well." He motioned to the open view of the courtyard as the slaves trained, "There's two more that have been performing exceptionally well, they've been around for a while but they were something of a lower caliber in comparison to the Core Four."

"Oh? And whose that?" Weiss craned her neck over to get a better view.

"The red hair with a tattoo on his face, goes by Scarlet, he was a pirate that our Navy captured when his ship tried to raid our vessels. I've been entering him in more matches lately and he's been winning, maybe not at the same caliber and finesse that I'm used to, but he wins. " Roman pointed out, his eyes scanned the crowd.

"He looks pretty roguish too." Weiss pondered a moment what the man would look like dressed like a buccaneer.

"Ah, that one, tanned with green hair, has two tattoos on his chest." Weiss nodded in confirmation as she caught sight of the Gladiator, "Excellent with a great sword, was still a little rough around the edges and not quite as strong as Nadir is in hand-to-hand."

"You keep very good tabs on all your fighters." Despite what she really felt about the man, she was impressed at how well he kept up with his slaves.

"My father taught me well," Roman nodded his head, "But on to business, if you don't mind." He motioned for his slaver, Neo to step out from her spot nearby the window, she held some papers in hand.

"Of course not." Weiss smiled as she reached into her bag, "So I ran my book a few times just to be sure and I didn't catch any of the mistakes you mentioned, I even had Klein…" She trailed off as she looked down at the parchment set in front of her.

It was a contract dictating 40% of her monthly profit be turned over to Roman.

"What is this?" She was perplexed.

Roman took a sip of his wine, "It's our new contract that was implemented last month, that's where I'm seeing the discrepancies."

"I didn't agree to this." Weiss wasn't sure what kind of stunt he was trying to pull, but she was surely going to shut it down.

"But you did." Roman motioned his hand, a few of his guards surrounded the two where they sat. The Merchant noticed that Neo had a blade at her side, which was unusual since the slaver usually didn't carry one in the Villa.

"Roman." There was an authority in her tone, "What in Oum's name is this?" She stood her ground, cursing the echoing words of her sister before she had left.

"Follow me, please." He stood, and Weiss followed reluctantly, wanting to punch him in the face for trying to make it seem like she had a choice.

The small detail was close in trail of the two, Neo stood at Roman's side while Weiss was directly behind them. They were going under ground, a place Weiss had never seen before. She took note of the storeroom and finally some rather plush quarters where she assumed the house slaves slept in.

Then suddenly they approached an underground iron gate, a long tunnel could be seen with several rooms on either side – some more ominous than others.

"Ah, I'm being rude by not showing you around here." Roman opened the gate, "There's an underground tunnel that connects the Villa to the slave compound, you see, the courtyard is settled on top of this tunnel." He motioned to his left, "There's a couple of rooms we'll use, like this one."

Weiss recognized the armor that was hung on display and noticed a woman that went by Melanie keeping them polished with the help of another slave. There were clothes and fine silks that she recalled some of the house slaves wearing to _entice_ people for their services.

"This is a dressing room of the sorts, and then down the hall is the gladiators and prospects bathing area, it smells like blood and sweat all the time so you'll have to excuse the stench."

"Where are we going?" The knot in her stomach tightened with every step.

"You'll find out." Roman waved it off, "And now we've reached the slave compound, a set of stone steps led up stairs and he ushered her up them. "This area is a general quarters area, at night we'll lock up the prospects but our full-fledged gladiators are given the privilege to roam as they will.

There were iron bars and gates that ran from the floor to the ceiling, and then some rooms were sectioned off by stonewalls. A peak inside and Weiss could see some of them had some personal affects.

"And then down here is a more private quarters if you will. Reserved for my very best." Weiss nodded, these rooms looked more livable than the ones she had just seen, not that the Merchant would call them proper living quarters.

"Get her."

Within moments the guards behind them made a beeline for the last room on the left.

"Wh-What?!" An exasperated cry and then a groan of pain, "St-stop!" She could hear the sound of flesh connecting with flesh and a brief scuffle.

"You all should know by now that it's better to tie her up." Roman called out, "And be mindful of her leg, I'm trying to get her back in the Arena sooner rather than later."

Weiss Schnee lost all feeling in her legs as she nearly toppled over as it all clicked.

"Woah there little Snowflake." Roman caught her easily, he looked up in time to see some of his guards sporting bruises and a bounded Ruby Rose. "I know that you get a little weak in the knees when you see her though, don't you?"

Ruby's eyes went wide, in a panic she looked at Weiss.

 **He knows.**

A certain rage began to build.

"Dungeon, now, string up Red."

The rage quickly dissipated to fear at the mention of the place, she tried to look outside for Sun or anyone, but the slave master had come down through the underground tunnels and no one spotted him coming.

Roman helped Weiss get settled to her feet and the group moved on to what was obviously Ruby's most hated room in the place. Weiss watched in horror as Ruby was thrown into cuffs on the wall, she watched as her neck and arms strained and her feet barely touched the floor while a string of profanities left her mouth.

"Shut up, or else I'll put her there right next to you!" Roman's voice thundered, Ruby quickly became silent at the sheer thought of it.

"You wouldn't, I'll have the city guard breathing down your neck for this." Weiss seethed as she found her fire.

"Red is _my property_ I can do with her as I please, and you, I want you to sign our new agreement." Roman produced the contract once more.

"Or else what." The Merchant narrowed her eyes.

"Neo." Roman didn't break his gaze on her.

With the hilt of her blade, Neo buried it into Ruby's stomach, a gasp of pain erupted from the slave's mouth and she found it harder to regain her breath from being shackled and hung from the wall.

"This is… This is coercion - no, extortion!" Weiss stared at the contract, if she signed that then it would be a struggle to stay a float, she just recruited more people and needed the profits to pay their salaries and then to run the new headquarters in town that she wanted to open up soon…

"It's not, you have a choice, just like how I have a choice." Roman flicked his eyes to Neo, this time the tip of her blade was buried ever so slightly into Ruby's slave's shoulder.

Ruby bit back a grunt, trying not to give her Master the satisfaction of her screams.

"And if I just walk away." Weiss twitched at the sight, Ruby's blood running down and staining her tunic.

"Then I'll just stay here to keep Red company." Roman motioned to Neo once more who then twisted the tip.

"Agh-" Ruby cut the yelp short as she gritted through with all she could.

"Like I said, we all have choices." A twisted grin as he crossed his arms, "Tell you what, it is a business deal, so how about this-" He grabbed a key from one of his guards.

"You sign that and I'll give you the key to get Red down from there. Sound like a fair trade?" Roman motioned to the writhing slave.

"Weiss, don't do it! Don't worry about-" With the hilt of the sword, Neo smacked Ruby across the face.

"What did I say?" Roman seethed, he grabbed Ruby's injured leg out of annoyance, "Did I say you could open your fucking mouth?" His thumb pressed into the still healing wound.

A howl erupted from Ruby's lips, blood was beginning to gush through the bandages and her hands tugged at the restraints.

"Stop! There! It's done, just please, stop it." Weiss voice cracked as she threw the contract on the ground. "I'll send you the funds from last month." Her eyes snapped up to Ruby, her face just a mix of emotions but through it all she could see the sorrow.

"Was that so hard?" Roman let go of Ruby's injury and noticed the blood on his hands, he merely wiped it on the slave's tunic. "And just like I said, here's the key." He picked up the contract from the ground.

"Don't even think about writing to your father about this." He looked the Merchant straight in the eye, "Or do you think Jacques would be happy to find out you gave up so much for a slave that isn't even yours or the fact that you're _considering_ a Faunus to help run your business. I believe he mentioned something about your younger brother, Whitley, right? Jacques says he takes after him a lot."

Weiss bit her cheek at the mention of her brother, a carbon copy of her father, she didn't want Whitley to come over and take over everything that she had tried so hard to build. "This… This is a private matter." Weiss' voice held steady.

"What I like to hear." Roman made a move to leave, "Take your time leaving, I have some business to attend to out in town. The slaves can help see you out. Neo, let's go." Roman sauntered out as he waved the contract around.

The guards made a face at the strung up slave before leaving the cell.

Weiss immediately grabbed the key and unlocked the chains, taking care of her injured leg and shoulder.

"Ruby… how should I treat this?" She was looking at the blood running from her leg, desperate to some how make it stop.

"He… just reopened it, Octavia can help me out later." Ruby grimaced, she couldn't get her leg to respond to what she wanted it to do, "I-I can't really stand right now."

"I'm so sorry." Weiss looked over the slave, a gentle hand was placed on the slave's shoulder.

"No, I am." Ruby propped herself against the wall, "You're in this mess now because of me."

"Stop, please," Weiss threw her arms around Ruby, mindful of her injuries, "You're hurt because of me, I should have just signed that damned thing from the get go."

"He's going to ruin you. He knows I care about you." Ruby bit her cheek.

"And he knows I care about you." A soft touch was felt on the Gladiator's cheeks, she looked up at the gentle gaze.

A small smile, "I know you do." Ruby turned her head to kiss the caressing hand, Weiss felt her heart flutter at such a simple act, "You shouldn't come here anymore."

"But I can't just leave you be here." Weiss was worried, "Ruby please."

"No, if you care about me then stay away from here. Stay away from Torchwick." A strong grip was placed on both her shoulders, "I can't protect you from him… and the thought of him… using you like this. I can't, please." Tears threatened to fall from those silver eyes, "Weiss, stay away." The way Ruby was pleading just struck a chord deep within Weiss.

"I…" She wanted to break down, she wanted to take Ruby away from this wretched place, "Will you be okay?" Both her hands found their way behind her neck, she watched as Ruby shivered at the touch – Weiss' finger's drawing soft circles at the back of her neck. She could get lost in the sensation for hours, if she had the luxury.

"I'm strong, don't forget that." The Gladiator said with such conviction, "Don't ever come back here."

"I promise." Weiss bit her lips as she said it, "I'm going to miss you."

"And I will miss you too, so much." Ruby's voice cracked at the thought, though their encounters were few and far between, they were meaningful and every precious moment was something neither would forget.

With a deep breathe, Weiss decided to ask the question that was beginning to burn in the back of her mind "Ruby… is it true you're from Vale?" She worried when she felt Ruby stiffen at the question.

"Weiss, where did you hear that from?" Her voice was quiet, Ruby wondered if the guards could hear them - she remembered Roman's orders to never make mention of that - ever. Silver eyes flicked to the cell's entrance and she strained her ears, Ruby was relieved when she didn't get any indication that the guards were nearby.

"Pyrrha, her and Jaune are investigating some of the missing prisoners. Your salute during your match gave you away." A small smile.

"That… That's…," A look of relief washed over Ruby's face, "Y-You don't know how happy you've just made me." A tear spilled down her cheek, "That they know the truth."

"Something happened, it was Roman, wasn't it?" She narrowed her eyes.

"Yes." An unreadable look was plastered on the Gladiator's face, "It's only a matter of time now, I'll be free soon and all of this is just going to be a bad dream for me." She looked down at her wounds, "A really bad dream."

"I'll be waiting then." Weiss wiped away the tears, "I'll wait for you."

"Hearing you say that makes me that much happier."

Ruby Rose leaned in and closed the distance to Weiss Schnee's lips.

For the first time their kiss was bittersweet.

* * *

 **A/N**

It's my birthday today, so I figured I would celebrate with an update. Maybe not so much a celebration considering the predicament our White Rose has found themselves in.

Guys, thank you so much for the awesome reviews and messages. I really do take into account the different feedback I get so that I can apply it to later chapters (and story that's going to be a Bumblebee focus).

So here's the good news: I took a lot of time off from work for the holidays and found a lot of spare time to write - I'm working on Chapter 17 right now and the rest are going through some edits and clean up.

Bad news (sorta): I mentioned it early on, but Gladiator is going to be at least 22-24 chapters... and I'm getting distracted with my plot and outline for my future Bumblebee fic. Trying to stay focused on finishing this up (I don't want to get into the bad habit of leaving stories half finished) but there is the possibility that I might take a detour with a new story (the struggle).

Hope you enjoyed this chapter and maybe I'll see you again in the next update!

Cheers,

DevilRed


	14. Staring Into The Abyss

Blake Belladonna sat curled up around the hearth outside in the courtyard, it was a moonless night and the stars were shining brighter than ever. She loved stargazing and tried recalling a constellation she used to be able to pick out with her eyes closed.

"Here." A rather warm figure hovered over her, calloused hands gently grabbed her wrists and drew out the constellation. "The Lynx," Suddenly the formation of stars was visible to the Faunus and the constellation she learned from childhood marked clearly.

"How'd you know?" Blake looked up at those lilac eyes that danced with hearth.

"Lucky guess." Yang plopped down on the seat beside Blake, the Faunus was half way tempted to invite the houseguest underneath the wool blanket, but decided against it at the last moment. "So, from the looks of it life isn't too bad here."

Blake bit her lip, "Honestly, it's not." She remembered what her those few short months in the slave market was like, "But it can be worse, so much worse."

Yang's eyes lingered on the collar she wore, "I can sense it," The Huntress had spent her first few days in the Kingdom gallivanting around town, the biggest thing she saw was the Great Stone Coliseum sitting at the epicenter of the Kingdom. The thundering crowd and applause made the surrounding stalls shake. Yang was curious and wanted to see a match for herself.

Then there was the dark and dreary of it, Yang did a few circles around the Coliseum and found what she was looking for – the slave entrance. She hung back in the shadows and watched as the damned and dreary came marching to the entrance, eyes looking into the entrance as if they saw Death itself waiting for them.

These were the men and women that were to lay their lives on the line for the sake of the Coliseum, for the sake of the Kingdom, for the sake of this culture.

She pitied them, and said a little prayer to Oum as she left the entrance. What was it that Qrow said, 'Brighter the light, the darker the shadow.'

"How do you like Mistral though?" Blake asked, she had warmed up to the blonde's presence, Yang was just like a regular person – she helped with the dishes and minded her manners, although she did have the occasional bickering session with Weiss when she chose to poke the bear. But most of all, Yang treated her like everyone else and not like some wounded animal (though she knows Klein and Weiss means well) – it was refreshing.

Speaking of Weiss, she noticed that the Schnee was looking a bit paler than usual, if that was even possible. Klein made note too, but Weiss made no mention of anything unusual.

Yang shrugged, "It's rich in culture, it's got a little bit of everything from every where. Like there was a pot pie being sold at a shop that's usual unique to Vale and then some trinkets that are from Vacuo's desert." She was amazed, "This place is truly the trading hub of Remnant."

"So you've travelled a lot?" Blake was impressed, although she shouldn't be surprised since Yang mentioned that she's a certified Huntress.

"Yep." Yang popped the last syllable, "Never really stay in one place for too long, but my uncle and I do tend to gravitate towards taking missions in around the Sanus continent, so we're bouncing around Vale and Vacuo. Although we have done some missions out of Atlas, and Menagerie is one of our latest endeavors." She thought fondly of all the travels.

"How... was Menagerie?" Blake asked tentatively, Yang picked up on the slight hesitation.

Confidant eyes looked straight into Blake's "Beautiful."

"That right?" The Faunus raised a defiant brow.

"Yeah, it is." Yang looked up at the sky "Other than the fact that Menagerie is largely uninhabitable, the seaside town and community was just amazing. The fact that most of the shop keepers and bars knew my name and face after a short while just made it feel so welcoming." She smiled down, "And then their leader Ghira," Yang didn't miss how Blake's ears drooped slightly at the mention of the name, "Extremely good man, welcomed us with open arms and told the Inn not to charge us a thing."

"That's good to know, I'm glad you have such a great impression of the place."

"Is Menagerie home?" Yang asked.

Blake looked to her companion, "…Yes."

"Your home is beautiful."

"Thank you." A slight smile, "Where's home for you?"

"Vale, specifically an island called Patch." Yang had visited the island once.

"What was it like?" She was curious.

A sad smile, "Forests, rolling hills, a quiet and sleepy town with a small port."

"Is… something the matter?" Blake didn't miss the look.

"It's just, there was a big fire that destroyed most of the village I lived in… I lost my sister in that fire." She stared into the burning flames, "Then my uncle found me and raised me after that."

"I- I'm sorry for loss." She placed a tentative hand on Yang's leg, "I'm sorry for bringing it up."

"No, it's fine." Yang smiled, "It's only natural to ask about home." She placed a warm hand on top of Blake's, noting that it was cold, "I visited once when I got older, they did well to rebuild a lot of it… but some parts of the forest there's still some of the wreckage left over."

She remembered looking at her childhood home, Ruby trapped inside, Ruby screaming, and then the house collapsing.

"I came here seeking adventure," Blake shifted so that she was a little closer to Yang, she noticed how warm the Huntress was, "I heard so many stories about how Mistral was a place for dreamers and adventurers, but instead it was just… I didn't realize how sheltered I was on Menagerie."

"Because you're a Faunus." Yang gripped her hand, "People tend to dislike things that are different from them. It's not like that everywhere, well, not as bad as here." The Huntress definitely noticed that there were more Faunus slaves than humans wandering around.

"I know…" Blake looked off to the side, she remembered meeting _him –_ Adam, almost a year after coming to Mistral.

"So… how are you a slave?" Yang was curious, she carefully studied Blake to gauge her reaction.

"I was desperate, I resorted to stealing." Blake simply put, "I was caught, and I'm sure you've noticed that there really isn't too many jails here – I was given a five year slavery sentence."

Yang nodded and simply listened, "I'm happy Weiss found you," She hummed a tune.

Blake nodded her head and listened to the tune, suddenly she felt incredibly sleepy.

Yang Xiao Long stopped humming when she felt a weight on her shoulder, she looked down to see the Faunus had curled up into her, her head was resting on her shoulder and a content smile on her face. The Huntress smiled to herself and grabbed part of the blanket to cover herself with. Sleeping out under the stars isn't that bad, especially with a warm fire going right next to you.

* * *

"How's your leg?" Octavia removed the bandages from Ruby's thigh.

"Despite Master Torchwick reopening it a while ago, it's better." The Gladiator tried walking around, she had a limp, but it was manageable.

"If you're gonna train, try not to over exert yourself, please." Octavia sighed, "And please try not to get too much dirt into it."

"I'll take care of myself." She flashed a grin, "Thanks Octavia."

"You're welcome." The slave returned the smile, "Ruby." She looked towards the house slave, Octavia had a rather maternal look on her face.

"Yeah?"

"How are you?" Octavia looked around just to be sure she didn't see any of the regular guards (or even Torchwick himself) around.

The younger slave bit her lip, "Getting through it." Ruby debated for a moment if she should tell Octavia the recent bit of news that she had already relayed to Sun. Octavia had been here by her side nearly as much as Sun had, she had helped nursed her (and their fellow fighters) back to health countless times… and she had been tasked at easing those unlucky few through the final moments of life. She decided against it at the last moment, house slaves talked too much – it was nothing against them, it was just how they were _trained_. They were masters and mistresses of seduction, making the men and women at local whorehouses look like virgins.

If the Torchwick Gladiators were renowned for their mastery of the blade, then house slaves like Octavia were known for their mastery of wielding sex as a weapon.

"He… Master Torchwick is so brutal to you." Octavia took a deep breath, he was brutal all around towards all of his slaves. Referring to them as proud products of the Torchwick name.

Ruby placed a hand on Octavia's shoulder, "I'll be fine." She repeated with such conviction.

"But Ruby, you've just been through _so much._ For Oum's sake, it's – it's just not fair for you." Her voice was barely a whisper.

"What're you slaves talking about in here?" Junior's voice thundered at the entrance of the infirmary, a dangerous look on his face.

"Octavia is giving me some advice on my injuries, sir." Ruby pulled away quickly, quickly schooling her features.

Junior looked over the two slaves, his eyes settling on Octavia, "Run along now, Reaper." A dark look on his face, "Master Torchwick has plans for you in the Arena, go train."

Silver eyes flicked towards Octavia, a reassuring look was passed off to the Gladiator.

 _I'll be fine._

The unspoken words were loud and clear to Ruby, Octavia was strong in her own ways – she had been a Torchwick slave a lot longer than Ruby had been.

"Yes, sir." The Reaper affirmed as she left the two alone.

Ruby walked with a slight limp out from the underground infirmary, she was glad that she didn't have the cane to worry about lugging around. Several gladiators and prospects paused for a moment when they saw her walking out on her own. Smiles and beaming faces could be seen as they saw their absolute best almost back in top form.

Sage held out a practice sword for Ruby to use, "Glad to see you walking again."

"Better than being cooped up all day." She grabbed the handle the and tested it's weight out, "I hear you and Scarlet have been doing really well in the Arena, not that you weren't anything to slouch at before."

"Well, without you, Bolin, and Nadir to hog all the attention, us little guys can finally shine." A smirk.

"Sounds like someone needs a remainder about my sword play." Ruby quipped as she held the sword out in front.

"Don't think I'll hold back against a gimp."

"I'd be careful with the insults there buddy." Sun paused his training to watch the spectacle unfold.

Ruby and Sage circled each other, for the taller fighter this would be the first time in a while he would get to spar with her.

Ruby struck first – Sun took note that she moved sluggishly and saw how she babied her right shoulder.

'Still hurting a bit, aren't you?' Sun thought to himself, he would make sure Ruby wouldn't over work herself.

Sage parried Ruby's strikes, taking a few moves to sneak in some counter-strikes of his own. The limp didn't impede Ruby's ability to dodge too much, instead Sage was rather over whelmed at the sheer speed and tenacity of his opponent.

"You sure you're still injured." Sage was a bit breathless at the exchange.

"Just shaking off the cob webs," Ruby hopped lightly on the balls of her feet to test out her leg, it didn't hurt as much as she thought it would.

She stood still and motioned her hand out, with a cocky grin she motioned Sage to come in for more.

"Told you to cool it on the insults." Sun chuckled at the sight.

Sage went on the offensive as he swung at his taunting opponent, he was surprised as Ruby blocked instead of trying to parry. The tanned fighter definitely put his back into each strike, he was used to swinging around his great sword in the Arena.

Ruby spied an opening in between one of Sage's attacks, with lightening fast speed she slashed at his side.

Sage let out a grunt once the wooden sword made contacts with his ribs.

"Your win." He held his hands up, a few of the slaves clapped at the quick fight.

The Reaper stood tall, an unreadable expression on her face as she looked each of the gladiators and prospects that surrounded her. If there was any doubt in any of their minds that the famed Reaper wasn't top dog, it was gone with this demonstration of the small fighter dismantling Sage.

"Good job Rubes." Sun put a hand on her shoulder, "Now take a damn seat."

"You too?" Ruby whined, "Octavia already gave me the talk earlier."

"It's for your own good, and I let you go ahead with your little scuffle with Sage. You feeling better now?" He handed a ladle of water to Ruby, she graciously accepted it and gulped it down in one go.

She wiped the excess water off her mouth, "Much better."

"You holding up better now…" Sun was filled in with the latest stunt Roman had pulled, the two waited until it was the dead of the night before Ruby told him the whole story of what happened.

Sun Wukong was ecstatic to hear the news, not so much about Weiss Schnee getting extorted, but the fact that Pyrrha Nikos and Jaune Arc were working on getting her free. With people like that working for Ruby, it was truly a matter of time before Ruby could walk out of here.

"I am," She took a deep breath in, she rolled her shoulder that Neo had injured, the wound wasn't so deep, but when she twisted the sword tip it definitely did not help. Ruby figured a trip to Octavia to rub some herbs on it would help.

"You know, the prospects have been saying that you have to be part Grimm with the way you can take a beating." Sun chuckled. "It's been so long, but they still talk about that winter match – stabbed in the leg and still managed to beat two opponents, a lot of them still cry with a little Charlie horse in their thigh."

"It's not like I ask for it." Ruby frowned, "Sun… how did we get so wrapped up in this?" She took a minute to realize the real reason why she wanted to fight so bad: Ruby wanted the respect back, she spent so long bed ridden that the other slaves were forgetting certain courtesies around her. Such as letting her through the food line first or the prospects waiting for her to finish bathing.

She wanted to exert the authority and dominance over those who were forgetting, something that Ruby had become used to having and wielding with her hard fought battles. The image of her hobbling around with her lame leg didn't exactly help bolster any of that.

"You mean, how did we get to be so _well trained?"_ Sun knew what Ruby alluded to, "It's what he wants, it's how he trained us, how he immersed us into this life style."

It was true though, Roman absolutely would not have allowed training to stop for anything else except for something like that – where his slaves reinforce this hierarchy and eat their own. Because Roman knew that this was how you foster the environment for ferocious fighters – keep feeding on slaves inferiority, jealousy, and greed for what little power is available to them in this environment.

"We're exactly where he wants us to be, and I loathe it."

"Same here."

Unbeknownst to the two, they were being watched by not just Roman but by Cinder as well.

"He's going to be an issue." Cinder crossed her arms as she watched the Faunus and his companion below.

"Then get rid of him." Roman was straight to the point as he sipped his wine, life had been grand to him the past few days since the man had enough gold lien to spare for the next few months courtesy of his little Snowflake.

"I plan to, but I wanted to do something a little _special."_ A conniving smile as the Fall daughter crossed her legs and leaned back in her chair.

"Do tell." The slave master set his cup aside and gave her his full attention.

Cinder had this laughter that ran down your spine like velvet, something Roman was experiencing at that moment, "I noticed that Red's walking around pretty well."

"Oh don't tell me, I think I know what you're scheming." Roman chuckled lightly to himself, "If I didn't know any better, I'd say you're the one head over heels for Red."

"But you know me so well by now Ro." Amber eyes looked down into the courtyard, greedily eyeing the silver eyed gladiator, "I just simply love playing with my favorite toys."

* * *

"Alright, what's eating you?" Yang closed the door to the study.

Weiss looked up at the intruder, she tried to glare daggers, but a serious look from the Huntress told her to drop it. "It's nothing."

"It's not, I talked to Klein and he's worried." She took a seat across the desk, "Winter asked me to look out for you, and I share her sentiments." Yang reasoned.

Weiss sighed, "Of course Winter would ask you that."

"She cares about you a great deal."

"Yang, it's complicated – "

"Complicated enough that you're not sleeping well, not really eating your food, and most of all putting off work for the new headquarters?" She listed it out, "I haven't been here too long, but I know how much that headquarters means to you. So for you to just suddenly drop it? Plus Velvet has been so nice by coming around three times this week to help you out, but you turn her away each time."

"I – I can't."

"You can't, or you won't?" Yang crossed her arms, "I have a sword that's about the same size as me and I can swing it around with one hand, I think I can help you out with what ever it is you're going through."

"It's not that simple!" Weiss shouted, irritated at the lecture she was getting from a woman that was the same age as her, "And what do you know?" She was standing.

"I know that your friends care about you enough to wonder what's wrong with you and wondeing why you won't talk about it." The Huntress' tone remained calm.

The two went into a stare down, Weiss from her irritation at Yang trying to pry into her personal life and Yang from her unwillingness to back down before the problem was resolved.

Yang's gaze softened, "I figured you would get like this with me," A sigh, "If you won't talk about it with me, then can you talk about it with one of your friends? Please?" Seeing Yang's pleading reminded Weiss of something, but she couldn't quite put her finger on it.

"If it'll stop you from antagonizing me, then yes – I'll talk to a friend." Weiss sat down exasperated from the whole ordeal.

"Promise?" Yang sounded like a child.

"Yes, I promise." Weiss waved her hand, "Now please, shoo so I can work on this mess."

"Not until you make good on your promise." A sly smile and the door opened up to none other than Pyrrha Nikos. "She's all yours, Pyr." Yang patted her shoulder on the way out of the office.

"Did… did you hear all of that just now?" Weiss wanted to bash her head through the table.

"It was hard not to." Pyrrha answered sheepishly. "Yang personally showed up this morning to get me, she seems like a really fun person."

"Of course she would, the brute has no common sense or manners." Weiss rolled her eyes.

"But you're letting her stay here?" The Mistrali Commander had a playful grin, she has never seen someone work up the Merchant the way Yang does.

"As a favor for my sister, she's a Huntress and apparently saved Winter's life."

"She did mention that on the way over here." She crossed her arms, "So what's wrong? I ran into Velvet into town the other day and she says you've been acting strange too."

Weiss walked over to the decanter that held her favorite wine, she poured out two cups of wine, "Pyrrha, Roman knows. He knows everything."

Pyrrha's eyes went wide at the statement, "How? When?" She recalled Weiss mentioning she had a quick visit to Roman planned almost a week ago now. "What happened when you went over to his Villa?"

Tears began to stream down Weiss' face, the memory still fresh on her mind and especially in her dreams. Pyrrha stood immediately and put her arms around her friend, in a rare moment of vulnerability for the usually serious Merchant, Weiss sobbed.

It seemed to be a long time before Weiss was calm enough to speak again, at this point Pyrrha did her best to keep her temper in check as her imagination spun on what it was that Roman had done to Weiss.

Finally Weiss found the strength to speak – she spared no detail as she told the whole story of what happened with Roman.

"That bastard!" Pyrrha seethed, the wine was much appreciated as she took a sip from it, "He knows what you're trying to do and he knows that _extorting_ that amount from you is going to ruin your hard work."

"I didn't know what else to do Pyrrha! He had Ruby tied up in his sick and twisted dungeon, and the things he did to her – I just couldn't walk away and leave her like that!" Weiss was almost hysterical as she could still hear the howls of pain that erupted from the gladiator.

"I think you did the right thing," Pyrrha said, "I just – I know he's harsh on his slaves, but a dungeon? Torture? That's just so cruel." She thought back to all the fighters she had ever fought from House Torchwick, have they all be subjected to this abuse?

"Jaune just needs to hurry up and come back… soon." Weiss held out, "40%... I just – it's just so much. I've been running the numbers on other options, I'm going to have to give up working on opening up the Headquarters – which I desperately need to help manage all of these growing accounts… not to mention I already purchased the building… and then – "

"Weiss," Pyrrha interjected, "I will help you. What ever the cost is, do not worry about it."

"Pyrrha I can't possibly ask you for money – "

"It's an investment," Her emerald eyes were steady, "I don't want you running yourself into the ground because of Roman, I refuse." Pyrrha's gaze softened, "And you're my dear friend,"

"Pyrrha…" Weiss was at a loss for words, "I can't – Thank you."

"You are so welcome."

* * *

A rather tall and well-built man with black hair and brown eyes tended to the flower shop that belonged to his childhood friend… who is now his girlfriend. His mother was off for the rest of the day, probably off having tea or playing cards with some of the other women of the neighboring shops and homes.

Reese Chloris, a strong and independent woman with striking turquois hair and emerald eyes, smiled fondly at the sight of Bolin Hori gently handling the plants – she had seen those same hands do so much more… something that the two of them still had trouble talking about.

Bolin still woke up in the middle of the night, not as often as the first month he came home, but it still happened. He'd wake up sweating or just with his heart racing, then Reese would do what she could to help quell his wild thoughts – to some how reassure that he was safe and away from it all.

"4 bronze lien." Bolin was cheerful in demeanor as he handed over the potted plant to the patron.

"You're a dear as usual." The elderly woman thanked him before grabbing the plant to leave the shop.

"Brother!" A young girl came running through the front, barely missing the elderly woman as she left. Her eyes were filled with excitement and her long dark hair was done up in a ponytail.

"Hey!" Bolin narrowed his eyes, "Be more mindful, I don't want you to get hurt Mei." He scolded his 9-year old sister.

"Sorry…" Mei's brown eyes looked down to the floor bashfully.

A smack in the back of Bolin's head echoed through out the shop, Mei giggled at Bolin's scowl.

"Don't mind your big bad bro." A shorter woman with turquois hair and green eyes danced in mirth, "He's still working on scaling back that aggressive nature."

"I'm not that aggressive." Bolin growled.

"You don't think you're that aggressive." Reese Chloris teased, she turned her attention to the youngest Hori sibling, "What're you so excited about Mei?"

"I heard the baker talking about Bolin's friend!" Mei exclaimed excitedly.

"Oh?" Bolin was intrigued, of course he told his family stories about his friends. For Mei he would tell her bed time stories about the people he fought with, of course he left out the gritty details. Almost every night Mei would excitedly ask questions about his fellow gladiators and it had gotten to the point where Bolin was sure Mei could pick them out in the crowd. "Who was it?" He was particularly proud of a story he heard about Ruby still defeating two slaves despite the nearly fatal sword wound in her leg.

"Nadir! The Wilding!" Mei put on her best heroic pose, "He's fighting today!"

"Did Henry mention who he was fighting?" Bolin didn't really keep up with the Arena fights, not the way some of his neighbors so religiously. It was wild the first month Bolin was home, he had his own fans come up to the flower shop almost every day and they would always buy something since they sold things like roses and daisies for a single bronze lien. Reese was pretty happy with the profit that turned.

Even now it would come up in idle conversation, someone would ask what it was like to fight another noble's champion, or what it felt like to fight a Grimm or a tiger and such.

"He's going to fight a Torchwick Gladiator!" Mei exclaimed excitedly.

Bolin scrunched his face up in confusion, "What?"

"What's wrong?" Reese saw the look on his face.

"That's just dumb, to have Roman pit both of his Gladiators against each other." Bolin scratched his head, "Is Henry still around?"

Mei nodded her head as she began to look over the flowers, she grabbed a nearby watering can to tend to some of the drier looking ones.

"I'll be right back," Bolin leaned over and planted a quick kiss on Reese's lips. He lingered a little longer to gaze deeply into her eyes, it was still something that he couldn't get over.

"If you want, we can got buy tickets and watch – I know how much they mean to you." She offered, she always did whenever she would catch word it was one Core Four out there. "I'm sure your mother wouldn't mind watching the store while we're gone."

"I would really like that." Bolin smiled.

He turned on his heel and approached the bakery down the street, sure enough Henry was still at the counter.

"Bolin! I hope you don't mind if I gave Mei a little cinnamon roll earlier." Henry greeted.

"That would certainly explain why she's bouncing off the walls." The older brother chuckled, "She mentioned something about a match today with Nadir."

"The Wilding?" Henry perked up, "I'm planning on going later to catch the show, it's been a long while since he's made an appearance." The baker and a few others in the surrounding shops and homes were huge fans of the Arena and the various fighters… if Bolin were being honest, it slightly disturbed him. But after being out of the Arena for so long he understood – they were just normal civilians and the Arena life was something completely foreign to them. All they knew was that they were there to simply _watch_ and be _entertained._

It was a part of their culture.

"Do you know who he's fighting?" He was hoping to get some clarification.

"No one really knows, just that they're coming from House Torchwick – could be one of the newer guys like Neptune or Sage." Henry shrugged.

"How's that possible though? They're from the same House." So Mei didn't get something confused.

"Oh yeah! I forget you don't keep up with these things, I think it's strange you don't since you were pretty famous yourself." Henry smiled, "Nadir was sold to House Fall a while back, not sure on the details but it happened."

"That's interesting." Bolin was perplexed, why would Roman, who had done the most underhanded thing by keeping Ruby, sell off Nadir? There was no way the man would give him up in any normal circumstance.

The whole thing felt off.

And then Bolin Hori knew why.

His knuckles were white as they stood amongst the crowd in the Arena, Reese had a concerned look on her face as she held onto Bolin's arm. She was trying to get his attention and ask what was wrong, but the old Gladiator was shocked at what he saw.

There stoically stood the Reaper, introduced first by Roman Torchwick who wore that sick and pleased smirk on his face. And to his horror, he watched Cinder Fall rise delicately from her seat.

"And the Champion for House Fall will be none other than the Wilding himself!" Her voice echoed among the crowd and the audience went wild.

"This is going to epic! I've always wanted to see a Torchwick gladiator fight against each other!" Henry and a few other men from the neighborhood cheered at the sight, but for Bolin all he could feel was dread.

That same dread is what Ruby felt as she watched her _opponent_ walk across the sands, but the way Nadir walked was peculiar. The Wilding always had a straight and sure gait, but for some reason he teetered slightly.

Ruby understood know why Roman wouldn't tell her who she was fighting.

"How much did you give him?" Roman murmured over to Cinder.

"I told Mercury not so much that it's obvious, but he is a big guy." The Fall noble answered.

Ruby looked up at Roman as he conversed with Cinder, the two were shooting glances at Nadir as he finally made it to the center of the Arena. She heard Nadir cough loudly, it racked his whole body and then there was the sweat running down his face.

She didn't like how any of this looked.

"Wilding!" Roman roared, "Reaper!" The crowd went wild, "Begin!" He commenced the match and immediately the two began to circle each other.

Nadir rushed in first with his shield poised, Ruby followed suit and the two entered that familiar dance that Bolin recognized as their sparring pattern. It was enough to please the crowd as both fighters unleashed such magnificent combinations and unbelievable footwork. To everyone else, it was an intense fight between seasoned fighters.

But to Bolin, it was getting sloppy – Nadir's footsteps were coming up short and the usual power behind his strikes was fading.

Ruby rolled forward to avoid Nadir's next strike that was being obviously telegraphed for her right side.

"What happened?" Ruby had her back to the marble stands so that Roman and Cinder couldn't see.

Nadir's eyes flicked up and saw what his friend was doing, he brought his left foot forward and executed a basic combination. Ruby parried backwards until his last strike and quickly circled around so that Nadir had his back to the marble stands.

"Poison."

Ruby's next strike nearly faltered, but she knew she needed to be disciplined now more than ever to not let the two catch on. Nadir countered, but Ruby felt that it barely even had half his strength behind it.

"Charge me." Nadir's voice was strained, but she heard the command.

The smaller gladiator charged forward, making sure it looked powerful, but Ruby was cautious to not put her full power behind it. Nadir took the hit full on and began to stumble backwards.

'This… This can't be happening.' Ruby thought as she felt both their forms fall to the ground. She rolled off to the side and saw Nadir hunched over coughing up blood. 'He… He's dying.'

Bolin was quiet as a mouse despite the uproar that was going on all sides, the fight looked exciting, but he knew it was a lackluster performance. And to see Nadir cough up blood, he knew something was horribly wrong.

"Arrrgh!" Ruby yelled out loud with her sword raised overhead, Nadir lifted his shield in time to block the hit. He stood to one knee and raised his sword, Ruby knew this move well and moved her blade in time to block his.

As soon their blades made contact, Nadir loosened his grip and his gladius was knocked roughly out of his hand.

Ruby's eyes went wide, she didn't know what to do next and she couldn't just stop – not in the middle of Arena, not with Roman _watching_ and _knowing._

So she continued on her combination, putting her next foot forward to proceed with her strike. Nadir swung his shield around and managed to deflect the next few attacks, but Ruby saw that his strength was fading fast.

Then it happened so quick.

Nadir did that thing that Bolin, Ruby, and Sun would always scold him for. That thing that the Arena knew him for because _he's the Wilding._

He threw off his shield and charged at Ruby quickly and head on.

Despite the fact that _he fucking knew_ where her next sword strike was going.

Nadir Shiko's breath was hot against Ruby's cheek, her hands were sickly warm, and she could feel the touch of his calloused hands on her sword arm – they were firm and they guided the sword deeper into him.

"March… revolt… beware… the fall…" His voice trailed off and then his hands were no longer firm on her arm.

He was lifeless.

Ruby let go of her weapon, she watched as his body toppled over into a heap.

The Arena exploded.

The Reaper paraded around the sands in triumph.

But Bolin saw the numbed expression in Ruby's eyes.

So he cried for the both of them.

* * *

A/N:

My heart hurt while writing the end of this chapter.

Back at work again, which means my free time is at an all time low once more. Still tweaking chapter 15 and 16, not too satisfied with how they turned out so I'm going to take some more time to flesh them out a little more. I will say that there's going to be a lot going on in the next few chapters so I'm trying to make sure they are where I want and need them to be.

Hope you guys enjoyed this update of Gladiator. Thank you all for the continued support and awesome reviews and messages. I promise to stay on track with Gladiator as much as possible, for those interested - I've got a rough outline hashed out for the Bumblebee story I've been knocking around with.

Cheers,

DevilRed


	15. Ruby Rose

It was warm that morning, which put a smile on Roman's face as he ate his normal morning breakfast. Neo joined him at the table, she planted a chaste kiss on his temple as she took a seat across from him – the two had a very eventful evening. He gave her that signature wink of his which caused a small smile to grow on Neo's face.

Then came his morning bath in the fine marble pool waters, which Neo also joined him for.

Then came going through any new reports in his study on the second floor.

Then entertaining any guests for the day while he oversaw his slaves training.

He absolutely loved the look on Red's face, it was the epitome of what he liked to see in all his rowdy slaves.

Broken.

The slave trained day in and day out, throwing herself into every match, scolding at every prospect for every little mistake.

It was absolutely fantastic.

Everything about Roman's life right now was perfect.

* * *

Yang panted heavily as she dropped the wooden sword to the ground, it was much warmer than anyone anticipated. She had spent a good chunk of the morning sparring in Weiss' courtyard, they had a small audience of Blake, Klein, and the Ice Princess herself watching over.

"Your sword play is phenomenal." Pyrrha was impressed.

"A little bit smaller than I'm used to, but it was still pretty good." Yang reached for the cup of water that Blake held out for her, "Thanks gorgeous." She said with a playful wink.

Blake rolled her eyes at the comment, but Weiss didn't miss the faint grin.

"I find it hard to believe you can fight with slab of metal." Pyrrha gushed, she laughed when she saw the weapon that was still wrapped up and stowed away in Yang's room while she stayed in the Villa.

"Just a whole lot of practice." Yang stretched out, "So I've been meaning to ask,"

"Yes?" Weiss looked up at the blond.

"Do you guys ever go to the Coliseum?" She was starting to get a hankering to go, but didn't really want to sit by herself, "I wanna go, but I also want someone there to explain to me what's going on – I've never been."

Weiss' expression turned hard, Yang didn't miss it.

"Do you… not like going?" The Huntress frowned a bit "I'm sorry I brought it up, I can go on my own."

"No, it's just… I rather not go to the Coliseum." Weiss trailed off.

"I'll go with you, the view from the Box is the best in the whole Arena." Pyrrha quickly offered.

"Yeah, I would appreciate that a lot." Yang decided not to press Weiss further. "So are you going to fight? I've been meaning to say that I've heard a story about you all the way in Menagerie."

"Really now?" Pyrrha was impressed, "All the way down south?"

"Yeah, there were some guys in port bragging about you and this big bad Reaper you fought." Yang talked excitedly, she noticed Weiss slightly flinch.

"I need to go work on some paperwork for the headquarters with Velvet today." Weiss excused herself.

Yang shot Pyrrha a look that said she definitely had questions for later.

"Klein, do you mind if we get in the bath?" Pyrrha asked.

Klein shook his head, "Of course not, I usually bathe in the evenings – I'll go get the coals running for you so that it's nice and warm."

"You too Blake, come bathe with us and we'll all chat for a bit." Yang invited.

A bright blush developed on Blake's face, "I-I also bathe in the evenings, but thank you." She looked away.

Pyrrha rolled her eyes, as soon as the two were in the bath she shot Yang a look.

"What?"

"Stop antagonizing the poor thing." Pyrrha chided.

"Weiss? She likes it." Yang brushed it off.

"I meant Blake." Pyrrha removed her tunic and breeches, she had brought her usual flowing robes to change into for later.

"I'm not antagonizing her." Yang also undressed and slipped into the marble pool first, " _I'm flirting with her."_

"You're terrible." Pyrrha laughed, her expression turned a bit serious, "It doesn't bother you that she's – "

"A slave? No, why should it?" Yang shrugged, "She's really great, just a little shy and is just in a tough situation." She remembered waking up the morning after sleeping underneath the stars around the hearth. Yang managed to snake her arms around the Faunus completely while they slept. Blake woke up in a slight panic that degraded to bashfulness once the Huntress started laughing at her reaction.

"I'm really glad you came here." Pyrrha admired her fellow swordsman, "The world could use more people like you."

"Not sure about that, might not be enough pubs left standing." Yang smiled cheekily. "So what's the deal with Weiss? I've been leaving it alone because I don't want to antagonize her, but I definitely felt like I was walking on egg shells when I was talking about the Arena."

Pyrrha sighed, "It's a really personal matter for her."

"Does it involve the Reaper?" The Mistrali noted that Yang was extremely attentive.

She sighed, "Yes. But please, stop asking questions about it and please don't bring up Weiss and the Reaper while we're at the Coliseum."

"Forbidden lovers?" Yang tried again.

Pyrrha couldn't school her features in time, a big grin broke out on the Huntress' face. "Yang. Please." She sank down into the water, fearful for whatever else her companion could get out of her.

"Okay, I'll stop." She was still curious as to what _exactly_ was going on, but Pyrrha was begging for her to stop and she didn't want to completely set off a Commander in the Mistral Army. "But please, tell me about your match with the Reaper."

A sigh of relief escaped Pyrrha's lips, finally something she could talk freely about without feeling guilty for selling out her friend.

* * *

"You don't have to work today Bo." Reese let out as she saw the Gladiator walk out from the back carry a box.

"I need a distraction, and I doubt Ruby and Sun have the luxury to sit still right now." There were some bags under his blood shot eyes. It had been two weeks since that match. Henry and the others in the neighborhood were still gushing about how good of a fight it was.

Reese wrapped her arms around his waist, "Please don't beat yourself up over this, they're not mad at you for being here"

Bolin sighed, his shoulders feeling heavier than usual, "I… I just." Tears threatened to spill.

"Talk to me." Reese coaxed, she forced the man to turn in her arms and look at him, "You have to."

"I know." Bolin bit his cheek, when had Reese gotten so good at coaxing him out of his shell? "At the Villa, they all used to look up to me during hard times. Just looking for answers or just some kind of… light I guess. But the point is that they would look to me." Something hot fell down his cheek, "And I would have to stay strong, for all of them – and it was just so _easy_ there, but here it's just… so hard."

A pair of lips pressed against his cheek, Reese was kissing away the lone tear, "Bo, you don't have to stay strong here, not around me."

"Okay."

For what felt like the hundredth time since Nadir's death, Bolin cried into Reese's shoulder.

And it just felt so good.

He felt lighter as the day progressed, his mother even took note as she made a comment that Bolin didn't seem as dreary that day.

Mei insisted on having lunch outside on the roadside so that the could people watch and enjoy the good weather. Bolin agreed that it was an excellent idea.

"Look! A flower shop!" A hyper voice was heard down the road.

"Slow down already, and stop wandering off, I think we're already lost." Bolin assumed it to be her companion.

"I'm sure someone can point us back – Oh look!" The voices and foot steps got closer, so Bolin decided to stand greet the potential customers while his favorite girls continued eating.

"Thank you." Reese smiled, she planted a quick kiss on Bolin's cheek.

"It's a flower shop Renny!" Bolin got a good look at the orange haired girl and her dark haired friend – no wait, boyfriend – that was close in tow.

"Good day!" Bolin greeted, "See something you like?"

"We're just looking around, but Renny loves to garden back home." The orange haired woman motioned to 'Renny'.

"Renny," Bolin smiled at the name, "I'm Bolin." He extended his hand.

"Ren is just fine." He shook his hand before turning his attention to the woman, "Introduce yourself Nora."

"I'm Nora!" Her blue eyes sparkled in mirth as she shook Bolin's hand, "Ohhhh, you have sword callouses. Are you a soldier? Because we are too."

"Nora…" Ren warned, "Remember what Jaune said, things are still delicate here."

"It's no problem, I'm not a soldier… I was a Gladiator." Bolin answered, "I'm assuming you're not from here then?"

Nora shook her head, "Nope."

"We're visiting from Vale, a vacation of the sorts." Ren added.

"Wait," Nora paused, "Did you say you were a Gladiator? Like those fearsome fighters we heard about?" She was excited as she looked the man over, "You guys are like legendary, we don't have anything like you guys in Vale."

"Yeah!" A much smaller girl joined the group, she latched on to Bolin's side, "Big Brother is really strong! Reese used to tell me stories about Bo slaying monsters and enemies and other big scary things."

Bolin chuckled, "Not so much anymore, that part of my life is behind me." He ruffled his sister's hair, Mei glared at him for it, "You said you're from Vale, so did you guys fight in the war?"

"Yeah…" Nora trailed off, "If it's uncomfortable, we can go." She wanted to be mindful.

"It doesn't bother me any, it's just," A sad look on his face, "I have a friend who was a part of the Vale army."

"Did they pass during the war?" Ren had a solemn look.

"Oh no, they became a gladiator and we fought along side each other for almost two years, that's how I met her." Bolin explained.

"Wait," Nora's eyes narrowed, "Who was your slave master?" The gears in her head were turning.

"Why?" Bolin thought it was a strange question.

"Because… we're here to get our friend. Jaune told us that she's stuck as a gladiator here." She tested.

Bolin's eyes went wide.

"You're looking for Ruby."

* * *

Lilac eyes looked excitedly about, she could barely contain her excitement and the fact that she could even drink wine while she sat here made it even more incredible. Then there was the crowd in here, the sheer volume of people and when ever they roared she could feel it deep in her bones. The first few matches were fun, but Yang really wanted to be a part of the crowd and not with these stuffy nobles.

"Not that these seats aren't awesome, but…" Yang motioned to the crowd in the box and then the rest of the Arena.

Pyrrha laughed, "I should've known to sit outside the box." She stood and motioned for Yang to follow.

They were making their way down the steps to the general seating, when Yang nearly turned the corner into another noble.

"E-Excuse me." Yang let out with a sheepish smile, "Totally didn't see you there."

A look flashed across his green eyes, but it dissipated once he caught sight of who was behind her.

"Lady Nikos!" He greeted, "Don't worry about it, it was a blind corner." He waved it off.

"Roman." Pyrrha greeted, there was a small smile on her face, but Yang noted it was a bit forced. "So you have some of your Gladiators fighting today?"

"Of course!" The Roman guy was good-natured, but something about him made Yang's Grimm fighting instincts stand on edge. "It'll be the best and finest of House Torchwick today."

"You mean the Reaper?" Pyrrha's eyes were surprised, "So she's finally back in form?"

"She's been in form for a few weeks now, her first match was actually against Nadir – ended tragically, I was going to judge my old fighter favorably no matter the outcome." He looked down casted at the memory.

"What do you mean?" Pyrrha was aware that Nadir was sold to the Fall family, but she didn't realize that the Reaper already fought against him.

"It was a brilliant fight that took place two weeks ago, the Reaper vs the Wilding – the audience loved it and it's so rare to see Torchwick gladiators fight against each other." He shook his head, "In the heat of the battle the Wilding lost his sword and after some intense fighting the Reaper impaled him – it was a quick death."

"I see." Pyrrha processed the information – Nadir died by Ruby's hand. 'How could he do that? They were comrades.' The Commander buried the thought, "Very unfortunate, but Nadir died a glorious death here in the sands."

"That he did." Roman looked at the blond, "Whose your friend?"

"She's a huntress visiting the Kingdom." Pyrrha motioned to her friend.

Yang took the cue, "Yang Xiao Long, pleased to make your acquaintance."

"Roman Torchwick, charmed." He extended his hand and Yang shook it firmly.

"Well, let's go before the next match starts." Pyrrha motioned.

"Where are you guys going? The best seats in the house are up here." Roman motioned.

"It's my first time here, and I wanted to check out what it would be like to see a match in the crowd." Yang explained.

Roman looked over Pyrrha and then at Yang, "How about I do you one better? Feel free to bring Miss Xiao Long over tomorrow, Lady Nikos. I'll have my gladiators give a bit of a demonstration for you."

"That would be wonderful Roman." Pyrrha stated, "We will definitely be there."

Once the two departed and melted into the crowd, Yang leaned over to her companion, "It did not sound like you were all that excited to hang out with your buddy tomorrow?"

"I have someone I want to check on tomorrow." Pyrrha narrowed her eyes, 'I need to see how Ruby is doing.'

"The Forbidden Lover thing?" Yang wagged her eyebrows.

"Yang!" Pyrrha hissed.

"I'll be on my best behavior tomorrow, promise." She crossed her heart for emphasis.

Yang sat back and enjoyed the next few fights – nothing too gory (according to Pyrrha's comments), but what she really wanted to see was what seemed to be the main event. She watched from below as that Roman guy stood up and gave some flowery speech about his family name.

"Does he do this all the time?" Yang asked.

Pyrrha giggled, "Yes, he's well-known throughout Mistral for his legendary gladiators."

"Gotcha," Yang looked back down.

The Huntress hooted and hollered with the rest of the crowd, the stands shook from the sheer volume. Yang loved it, her blood was going and adrenaline was rushing on along side with everyone. She began chanting the name 'Reaper' with the rest of the crowd.

"You haven't even seen the Reaper yet!" Pyrrha joked.

"But it's just so much fun to be with the crowd!" Yang yelled back over the chants.

Pyrrha broke out into a grin and decided to chant along side her friend.

If it were even possible, Yang felt the audience explode even _louder_ entering stage right was the legendary fighter.

"She's pretty tiny." Yang commented while she looked her over, "Hard to believe that she's such a ruthless killer."

The mop of short dark hair came into view.

Yang did a double-take, 'Are… Are the tips of her hair red?' She thought to herself.

 _Messy unkempt bed-head that were tipped in red that stuck in every direction._

The memory flashed before the Huntress' eyes.

But what was most striking was her eyes, 'They're silver.'

 _Silver eyes that watched a butterfly float around intently, net in her hand, ready to try and catch it._

And then she raised her sword to the slave master – **the sword in her left hand** _ **.**_

 _Mom's fresh baked cookies and those tiny hands standing on her tiptoes trying to reach for one with her out stretched left hand._

"Pyrrha." Yang simply stated. "What's the Reaper's real name?'

"What?" The Mistrali couldn't quite hear.

Yang leaned in closer, "What's the Reaper's real name?"

"Why?" Pyrrha's brows scrunched together.

"Pyrrha." Yang's eyes flashed, there was something brewing underneath, "What. Is. Her. Real. Name."

Pyrrha looked down at the Gladiator and then back up at the Huntress.

"Ruby Rose."

* * *

"Oh Dust, it's really her Ren." Tears formed in Nora's eyes, she grabbed on a little bit tighter to his arm.

Bolin nodded as he looked at his dear friend fighting in the middle of it all. Her opponent was some burly gladiator easily twice her size, but Bolin had more than enough confidence that she could dismantle the man in 3 minutes.

"She… She's different." Ren remarked, "Ruby always had a cheerful demeanor but this, if it wasn't for her hair and eyes I would barely recognize her."

"A lot happened." Bolin simply put."

"Like what?" Nora snapped her head over, "What happened to her?"

Bolin bit his cheek, he hated thinking about – how vulnerable Ruby was to _him._ What _he_ did to her – physically and mentally. How _he_ tore her down over and over and over again. Oum, he could barely think of the things Roman had ordered his men and that fucking slaver to do to him in order to break his spirit.

 _His green eyes narrowed as he looked up at the dark haired gladiator, "The same thing goes for that green hair whore you thought I didn't know about – I believe her name was Reese Chloris, right Bolin?"_

Roman Torchwick's words made his spine shiver and his skin grow cold – he never gave empty threats.

"If it's too hard to talk about – " Ren started.

"Another time." Bolin cut off, he didn't want to think about it right now, because if he did he couldn't guarantee that he had the restraint to stop himself from marching into that damned marble box and lay waste on the slave master himself.

"Ruby! Ruby it's me!" All three perked up at the yell, "Ru-"

Nora's trained scout eyes quickly scanned the crowd, not too far off from where they sat was a woman with red head trying to wrestle down the blond.

Yang Xiao-Long's eyes flashed red as Pyrrha Nikos attempted to restrain her in the stands, the immediate surrounding people stopped and watch in confusion as the Huntress' fist shot out like a blur and landed a solid hit on Pyrrha's jaw. The Mistral Commander was none too happy, but she quickly took note of the forming crowd.

With strong arms, she wrangled Yang's head down to her waist, Pyrrha bent over and whispered in her ear.

"Yang, you absolutely can not cause a scene."

"That's… Ruby…" Yang's voice strangled against the tight hold, "I… know… her…" Her face turned red.

"If you care about Ruby, then I need you to calm down. For Ruby's sake." Pyrrha tried again.

Yang nodded, her vision quickly turning black.

"You know them Bolin?" Nora pointed the pair out, Pyrrha had just released Yang and the blond was glaring menacingly at her friend.

"I know the red head, that's Commander Pyrrha Nikos." He was a bit perplexed, "Though I'm not too sure why she isn't sitting with the rest of the nobles."

Ren looked down at Nora, "Isn't that who the Commander was going to go off to get?"

"Imagine the look on his face when he see's that we beat him to the punch." Nora giggled as she stood up from her seat.

"Well, we are scouts. Part of the job to go out and find things." Ren chuckled as he followed her through the stands. The crowd around the two had dispersed since the match started, Bolin easily maneuvered through the crowd to approach Pyrrha and Yang.

Bolin approached the pair, "Commander Nikos." He wasn't too sure how to approach her outside of being opponents and fellow gladiators.

"Bo-Bolin." Pyrrha looked up in surprise.

Yang took a deep breath to steady her nerves as she stared intently down at the silver-eyed fighter. It was obvious she was going to win because her opponent had just _lost his arm._

"Forgive me if it's a bit rude, but these are-" The roar of the crowd cut him off.

Pyrrha looked down at Yang who was still simmering and then at the two new faces that were with him, "Let's go some place else quieter."

But that proved to be entirely too difficult because everywhere they went in the heart of the Kingdom, everyone recognized Bolin and Pyrrha together. Too many fans would come up and interrupt every time they tried to get into a serious conversation. Eventually Pyrrha just gave up and told everyone they were invited to come talk in her Villa.

Which is how a still brooding Yang and company found them selves in a carriage.

"I'm Sergeant Nora Valkyrie, Scout," Nora greeted, she wasn't sure to salute the Commander or shake her hand.

Pyrrha reached across, "No need to stand on ceremony." They shook hands.

"Staff Sergeant Lie Ren, also a scout." Ren shook hands with the Commander.

"Pyrrha is just fine." The Mistrali smiled, "So you mentioned that you're with Jaune?"

Nora nodded, "Jaune personally visited our unit looking for a friend of ours, she was actually the one who made mince meat out of that poor soul earlier."

"You guys know Ruby?" Yang perked up for the first time since leaving the Coliseum.

"Yeah, she's a scout in our unit. Jaune was looking around to see if she was there, but we filled him in on what happened to her. And then he told us what he knew about her and her situation here." Nora sighed.

"That was nice of Jaune to bring you guys along." Pyrrha mentioned.

"Well actually, he sort of didn't" Ren had a sheepish look on his face, "Nora was set on coming here even though the Commander said no."

"So we do what we scouts are good at and did some reconnaissance and got on the same boat as him when he finally left to come back here!" Nora exclaimed.

Ren groaned, "You know that he could have us court-marshaled for a 'Failure to Obey'."

"I don't care Renny, this is Ruby." Nora had a defiant look.

"If it means anything, I'll talk to Jaune about your situation." Pyrrha admired the scout's resolve. "How come you're not with him right now?"

"Well, the Commander said that he had to try to find you first, so we agreed to hang out around the Inn until he came back." Ren said, "And then we explored the town a bit and ran into Bolin."

"You should have seen my face when they said they were looking for Ruby." Bolin chuckled, "I heard she had a match going today, so I figured I would bring them there to see for themselves if it was truly her."

"So… you all know Ruby." Yang was in disbelief, "And she's a scout from Vale – as in she's from Vale." She looked over the two scouts.

"Y-Yeah – she's an orphan like me and Ren." Nora was confused.

"So do you know Ruby?" Ren asked tentatively.

"Every instinct in me tells me that I do," Yang sighed, "I think – no – I know that she's my sister."

A pregnant pause.

Pyrrha's eyes went wide.

Bolin looked the blond up and down for any sort of resemblance to his friend.

"Wait…" Nora racked her brain, Ruby told them the story a few times about what she could remember of her family, "You're Yang. The sister she was separated from in the fire."

"She – she talks about me?" Her eyes began to water.

"She doesn't remember much, unfortunately, " Ren filled in, "She suffered a head injury during the fire, she's got a scar on the back of her head from it so she was unable to remember her parents name."

"Summer Rose and Tai-Yang Xiao Long." Yang recited easily, "This is-" It was too much to process.

Her sister was here.

"I – I thought she died…" Yang wanted to cry, her sister was in Vale all along, "But we checked every orphanage and no one had her."

Ren looked down at Nora, "It's a bit more complicated than that." He took a deep breath, "Ruby only told the story to us once, but I think it might be better to hear it from her."

"What happened?" Yang was dying to know, "I made Qrow look all over for a whole month."

Nora sighed, she opened her mouth to answer, but Ren placed a hand on her shoulder, "I believe that's a story you should hear from Ruby."

Yang Xiao Long was at a loss for words.

"We're here." Pyrrha announced as soon as the carriage stopped in front of her Villa, from the courtyard outside they saw the look of a very shocked Jaune Arc as they group stepped out of the carriage.

* * *

Her gait was still unsteady. Her eyes flicked over to the new occupants of the slave's private quarters. Neptune, Sage, and Scarlet sat around in one of the rooms relaxing for the rest of the evening.

She approached the last room on the right, a mop of blond hair sat down on the bed – but the room wasn't his.

It was Nadir's old room.

"I'm sorry." Ruby muttered.

It had become a ritual after that fateful day was done for the past two weeks.

Sun making it back here, Ruby coming in and muttering an apology, and the two would sit in silence until they both fell asleep. Neither said a word to each other since Ruby told him. Neither had even grieved because of how surreal this was.

Ruby took a seat on the ground, staring at the same spot she had for the past two weeks.

"It's not your fault." His voice was vulnerable.

She remained quiet.

"Rubes, come here." Sun offered a spot on Nadir's bed. Silently, she complied. He wrapped his tail around her waist and Ruby leaned onto shaking shoulders. His hands were in tight fists.

Together they both wept.

"When does this stop?"

Sun looked down at her with tears still in his eyes.

"I don't know, Ruby."

* * *

It was warm (again) that morning, which put a smile on Roman's face as he ate his normal morning breakfast.

Neo joined him (again) at the table, she planted a chaste kiss on his temple as she took a seat across from him – the two had yet another eventful evening

Then came (again) his morning bath in the fine marble pool waters, which Neo (again) joined him for.

Then came going through any new reports in his study on the second floor.

Then he had to get ready to entertain more guests today, Pyrrha Nikos and her Huntress friend.

Roman looked out at the courtyard and watched the slaves train.

He absolutely loved the look on Red's face, it was the epitome of what he liked to see in all his rowdy slaves.

Broken.

The slave trained day in and day out, throwing herself into every match, scolding at every prospect for every little mistake.

It was absolutely fantastic.

Everything about Roman's life right now was – an abrupt scuffling was heard at the entrance of his Villa.

"What in Oum's name is going on?" He was irritated, "Junior, whose here?"

"Lord Torchwick," There was a look of panic on his face as he looked at the intruders.

"Roman." Pyrrha stood with an air of authority, her Huntress friend was right at her side, "I hope you don't mind if we showed up a little early."

The slave master was confused, "Of course not."

"Do you know what these are?" Pyrrha held out the papers, the air turned tense.

Roman Torchwick's heart dropped at the sight.

 _They were Ruby Rose's Valesian identification papers._

"I assure you that I am just as confused as you are." Roman hid his anxiety, "I thought Red was just a wanderer who-"

"Who murdered one of our citizens and is sentenced for a lifetime of slavery." Pyrrha finished, "I'm aware of the story you told."

"Everyone is aware." Jaune Arc stepped into the room, a stern look on his face.

Roman was also painfully aware that nearly everyone was armed.

"You've been hoarding a POW." Pyrrha stepped forward.

"It was an honest mistake, I didn't know she was from Vale." Roman fibbed, but he knew he should be fine – he burned all the paper work he had and the paperwork Cinder stole from the Office of Official Records that implicated Ruby Rose as a Valesian soldier.

Pyrrha narrowed her eyes, "So you had no idea at all that she was a prisoner?"

"Honestly, no – " Roman raised his hands in defense, "When I purchased her I wasn't given any identification papers or made aware of any status she might have carried other than that she was sentenced for life."

Yang's fist was tight – she wanted to destroy the snake. Bolin Hori had told all of them the story of what happened in the dungeon. How he burned Ruby's proof in front of her eyes and abused her friends so that she would maintain her silence. And then _Bolin begged them not to tell anyone_ that they knew – not for what was at stake. It physically pained her to see Bolin do that.

"How did you figure out that the Reaper was from Vale?" If it was that Hori kid he was going to have them taken care of.

Jaune looked at Pyrrha, "During the match, she used a Valesian salute." They all agreed on the story before approaching Roman, which is why Bolin wasn't present, "During my investigation of some of the missing POW I came across the entry that read 'Scout R.R.'."

"I remember meeting Ruby Rose after I came home from the war." Pyrrha, "You remember, right Roman? That was the day you _disciplined_ your fighters in the courtyard."

"Ah, right, I do remember that day." He looked everyone over, the gears in his head turning as he wanted to tread as cautiously as possible, "Though if it's just a prisoner release, then why all the swords?" He motioned to their weapons, his gaze not failing to rest on the huge great sword that rested on Yang's back.

"Some slave owners have been _hostile_ in our approach to free some of the prisoners, which is understandable if their _slave_ has been _valuable._ " Pyrrha explained.

Roman didn't fail to catch the true meaning behind it, "So then take Red and we'll move on with our lives." He waved for Junior to go fetch her. "And grab her key for me."

"Before I forget, this is from Weiss." Pyrrha handed him a document that was written in Weiss' neat handwriting. The letter was drawn up earlier that morning before their trip to Villa Torchwick, "She wants to terminate any and all agreements she has with you."

"What? She can't do that, we're under contract" Roman seethed as he looked her over. "She doesn't have the nerve to cut me off – "

"She can and she did." Yang's voice was dangerous.

"I'll send word to her about – "

"You are not to talk to my friend ever again." Yang cut him off, "Not after the way you've treated her."

"What would you know about my personal affairs?" The slave master shot a venomous look to the Huntress, "You're just an outsider."

Yang seethed, her rage was just barely contained. But Pyrrha's words echoed in her ears _"Please don't do anything rash, Torchwick is ruthless."_

"I must also inform you that you owe a 600 gold lien fine." Pyrrha explained.

"I refuse," Roman shook his head, "I had no idea she was a prisoner upon purchase, do you have any records available indicating that she was? Anything at all in the Mistrali Records that are so _well kept_ by Oobleck that would _implicate me_ hoarding a POW?" The corner of Torchwick's mouth twitched, he caught the disgruntled flash across Jaune's face.

"Unfortunately no, that is what delayed Ruby's release." Jaune answered, he quelled his anger.

"Then I suppose we'll let bygones be bygones at this point, it was just a harmless mistake." Roman waved his hand.

'Harmless mistake?' Yang seethed internally, she took a half step forward towards the slave master, but Pyrrha grabbed on to her arm to hold her back.

"Lord Torchwick." Junior stated.

Cold. That was how Yang would describe the slave that walked in.

Her tunic and breeches were dirtied, sweat coated her face and her gaze just seemed so far off. She barely paid any attention to the people in the room as her attention went automatically to her slave master. Her very being was like that of a caged and dangerous animal, ready to lash out at the whim of her master.

"Ruby." Yang said under her breath.

"Red, it's come to my attention that you're a prisoner of war." Roman looked the slave over, "I would just like to formally apologize for any grievances you may have experienced, if I had known you were a prisoner, you know I would have let you go." A toothy smile.

Ruby's eyes flashed at the comment, her fist was clenched tightly to the point where her nails were digging into her palms, causing blood to draw. She wanted it, she wanted to slug her fist across his smug face. Yang didn't miss her sister's body language, which only further caused her temper to boil.

"What's wrong Red, got something you want me to _pass_ to your _friends_ before you leave?" Roman put his hand out for the contraption to release the collar, "Should I tell Wukong you'll miss him?"

Sun, the man who had done his best to be there for her, the man who bled with her, tried his best to protect, one of her closest and dearest friends. Ruby released her grip, she wouldn't do that to him… They've been through too much.

"It's your lucky day Red," Roman grabbed the earth Dust crystal key, "You're a free woman now." He stood behind the slave, this caused Ruby to visibly tense, "I just hope you don't _forget_ all the _great times_ we had together."

"Yes… Master Torchwick." Ruby sputtered out, more than aware of the threat. She barely registered the collar coming off.

Yang's fist went flying.

And Roman's head snapped back as his body crashed to the floor.

"You damned whore!" Junior called out as he lunged at the Hunter, Yang made quick work of the man who was easily twice her size. Soon Roman's body guard found himself facedown on the floor, his stomach doing flips and his lip busted open from the lethal combination Yang unleashed on him.

"You damned snake!" Yang seethed as she grabbed Roman by the collar, "What did you do to her?!"

"Unhand me this instance!" Roman seethed back, both of his hands at Yang's powerful grip, "That bitch is my property and I so gracefully allowed her to fucking leave!"

"Yang! Stop!" Pyrrha called out as she grabbed at her arms.

"She is not your property." Yang held the Roman closer to her face, "She's a free woman and you have no fucking right to take that from her." Her eyes burned as she violently shook his body.

Roman smiled, "Why is this so personal to you, Blondie?" His green eyes gleamed with something calculating. "You don't know who you're messing with kid."

"Yang, let him go." Pyrrha tried once more, "He's not worth your time."

The Huntress took a deep breath and loosened her grip on him, "I've skewered men like you for a lot less." The sword on her back gleamed.

"Yang…" Pyrrha tried again.

"If you know what's good for you, then you'll listen to your friend there." Roman eyed the great sword, a deep seated fear began to grow – not only did she handle Junior like a rag doll, but even the famed Mistrali Champion had a hard time reigning the blond under control.

This was not someone Roman could control.

Yang narrowed her eyes, she let go and watched indifferently as Roman fell to a heap.

Ruby stood as she looked on utterly confused as to what was going on.

But Ruby Rose smiled ever so slightly as she watched the one called Yang bury her foot into her former Master's side.

* * *

The carriage ride back was eerily quiet.

Yang simply stared at the former slave; the expression on her face was unreadable.

"You really let Mas- Torchwick have it… Thank you" She looked at the Huntress. "This just all feels like a dream."

Yang looked at her younger sister, unsure if she should speak up and tell her the great news.

"We're here!" The carriage driver called out.

Jaune looked outside, "This isn't your Villa."

Pyrrha shook her head, "I think we've let Weiss wait long enough,"

Ruby perked up at the mention of Weiss, she jumped out of the carriage, eager to walk in.

"Do you guys mind if you head in first?" Yang asked, "I wanna talk to Ruby real quick."

"Of course," Pyrrha obliged, "Take your time, we're not going any where."

They both watched as their four companions headed inside the Schnee Villa.

"So, what is it you want to talk about?" Ruby looked the woman over, a mane of blonde hair and lilac eyes.

Blond hair and lilac eyes.

That dream she would have.

That dream that would always haunt her.

That dream that always seemed to have alluded her.

That dream of her older sister with lilac eyes filled with mirth and a wild mane of blonde hair that would bounce in time with her running through the woods on Patch.

And then it clicked, Pyrrha called this blond _Yang._

"Y-You… Are… You-" Ruby couldn't find the words, right in front of her was a woman who looked exactly like the child who haunted her sleep.

Yang bit her cheek, the dawn of realization clear on her younger sister's face, "Do you still like strawberries?"

Ruby let out a small laugh, "It's been years since I've had a strawberry."

"So, no?"

"I love them."

Both siblings shared a laugh.

"You're Ruby Rose… my little sister." Yang reached out her hand to touch her baby sister, but stopped, afraid she might scare her off.

Cautiously, like Yang was made of glass, Ruby grabbed her hand in hers "Yang…" The name was foreign on her lips, but it felt so much like home, "You're Yang, my sister." Ruby bursted out into a smile, "You're alive."

"I am." A tear rolled down her cheek, "I thought you died in the fire." Yang choked out.

"Patch?" Ruby asked, her tone with a hint of excitement.

"Yes, on Patch." Yang confirmed.

"I'm Ruby Rose, you're little sister!" She let out the words that she had only imagined saying in her various day dreams of freedom – of a better life.

"I know you are."

"You're my sister…" Ruby tried the word. "You're my sister, Yang."

"Yes, I am your older sister." Yang confirmed, a bright smile on her face.

Without warning, Ruby jumped into the taller woman's arms, tears streaming down her face, "You're my older sister." She whispered into Yang's coat.

For the first time in a very long time Ruby's heart felt full.

For once the world was going with her because despite all the immeasurable odds, Yang was right here. Her big sister was right here with her in her arms. And Ruby would be damned if anything should tear her apart from her sister again.

Never again.

"Thank Oum I found you." Yang muttered, her embrace tight.

"Thank Oum…" Ruby repeated back. "Are you sure I didn't just die and this is heaven?"

"No, this is not heaven." Yang joked, both sisters laughed non-stop. They laughed so hard until tears came out of their eyes. And when their laughter died, they simply stood there crying.

Crying until all that was left were the sobs that racked both of their bodies.

"I'm never letting you out of my sight, ever." Yang choked out.

"I think I could live with that." Ruby's voice was shaky.

"They're sisters?" Weiss asked from the Villa's entrance, a small smile on her face as she watched the scene.

Pyrrha nodded, "Yeah, she almost jumped into the Arena yesterday to find out."

"I'm not surprised."

Yang looked up at Weiss and Pyrrha standing in the doorway, Pyrrha smiled and then ushered Weiss back into the Villa. The Huntress didn't miss her friend's lingering gaze at her sister.

"Hey." Yang let out, she wiped her tears against her sleeves, "There's someone else that wants to see you."

"Hm?" Ruby looked up at her sister, then it dawned on her – they're _outside_ of Weiss Villa.

"She's been pretty down for a while."

Ruby stepped back, suddenly aware of the dirty tunic and breeches she wore, they were in the middle of training when Junior unexpectedly pulled her from the rest and then this emotional ride started.

"Come on, I doubt she really cares about how you look." Yang laughed as she watched the younger girl fret over her clothes.

"You think?" Ruby snapped out of it and figured she looked ridiculous for even trying, "This is just… It's not even mid day and my life has spun around completely." She looked up at the sky, absent-mindedly her hand reached for her neck.

And for the first time in what seemed to be forever, there was nothing there.

"How does it feel?"

"It feels… weird." Ruby confessed, "I've gotten so used to thing that it just felt natural at one point."

Yang nodded, "You ready? Your _friend_ is waiting for you." She teased.

Ruby couldn't contain the grin working it's way on her face, "As I'll ever be." She took one more look at her older sister, "Yang."

"Yeah?"

"Can – Can we talk? Later on though… and for a long time." Ruby had so many questions.

"We've got all the time in the world, Rubes."

Ruby smiled as she heard the nickname, just the way Yang said it was just perfect.

Together the two walked down the path to Villa's front door.

Ruby Rose couldn't even take a step inside without Weiss Schnee launching herself into her arms.

* * *

A/N:

Not dead, not until I bring this story the proper closure it deserves.

There comes a time in life where I just need to stop second guessing and just let story take it's course, will it ever be perfect? Probably not, but nothing is ever perfect.

I can't begin to tell you how many revisions I went through before just finally telling myself that I just need to shut up and just do it. I think what the final tipping point for me was when I went back and re-read all of the reviews for this story, kind of gave me that little push I needed to find the grit to finish writing this.

I will say that writing this chapter was a breathe of fresh air to me... because Ruby's finally free.

Hope you guys enjoyed the chapter - and sorry for the long wait, like I said, free time doesn't come by easily for me.

Til next time.

Cheers,

DevilRed


	16. Together

Weiss couldn't sleep.

The day was just so hectic; the rowdy bunch went through so many casks of wine. Nora and Yang were like a hurricane together, both couldn't contain their excitement as they told the elaborate story of the past few days. Nora chatted excitedly about how she and Ren were stowaways on Jaune's boat just so they could see her. Yang told Ruby about her awesome pirate slaying and Grimm Sea Dragon adventure.

And Ruby laughed to tears at the series of coincidences that brought all the people that love her together. She laughed because there was just so any people out here that love and care for her and it made the hell she survived worth it.

It warmed Weiss' heart to see Ruby there in her home, a smile on her face as her friends and sister showered her with endless attention. How it just looked like some life was being breathed back into the worn out Gladiator.

Gently, she padded down the hallway, she heard Yang's incessant snoring coming from her room which made Weiss slightly roll her eyes. Pyrrha and Jaune went back to her Villa while Ren and Nora went back to the Inn they stayed at. Weiss offered the two the last available room, but the two declined saying they didn't want to impose.

She wondered if there would be any coals left to rake over in the hearth to start a fire outside.

"Can't sleep?"

Weiss snapped her head up to see the reason why she couldn't sleep.

The Gladiator cleaned up well compared to the practical rags she arrived in, the clothing she wore now was in great repair. The layer of grime and sweat was gone and her eyes – Oum, Ruby's eyes had a dull sparkle to them, it reminded her of the subdue burn of coals. There was a deafening calm about Ruby as she teased the hearth to catch flame to the new log she had put on.

"Should I not be wandering around?" Ruby caught on to the silence.

Weiss shook her head, "Heavens, no, I've opened my home to you and your sister." She smiled, "Please, make yourself comfortable."

"Thank you for doing that." Ruby said.

"It's the least I could do," Weiss let out, "How're you handling everything? And you can be honest, I really want to know."

"Over whelming." She simply replied, "I'm still trying to take it all in."

"If you need a break from… whatever today was and everyone here, just say so." Weiss advised, "They would understand."

The Gladiator looked up at Weiss, "You think so?"

Another grin broke out on the Merchant's face, "I know so."

Ruby returned the smile, her eyes flicked back over to the hearth, "You asked me once what it was like to be in the Arena." She teased the flame.

"I did." Weiss couldn't forget the day even if she tried, it was their first time together.

"Can I give you my real answer?" She left the hearth alone as the flames began to dance.

The Merchant sat down on one of her chairs, the Gladiator took a spot adjacent to hers.

"I would love to hear it." Weiss replied smoothly.

Ruby took a deep breathe and stared into the fire, "It's crushing, exhausting, and most of all daunting. It's not just me and my opponent, it's me and all my comrades in there too with who ever is trying to kill me – and then there's Roman. Standing over while commanding me to do one thing and that's to win, at all costs – or else." She closed her eyes, "And once that match starts, it's just me… and I have never felt more alone than when I'm in there. It's like I have to carry everyone's lives on my shoulders while I fight what ever monster is waiting for me."

"Ruby…" Weiss reached across to place her hand on hers.

"Weiss, I don't ever want to be in there again." She looked down at the soft hand on top of hers.

"You don't have to go back in there." Weiss reassured, "You can go home and think that this is a bad dream." As soon as she said home, there was a slight sadness that was sparked at the bottom of her stomach. Ruby leaving…

"Home…" Ruby looked back up at Weiss, a small but bright smile on her face at the thought.

"Yes. Home." Weiss repeated, the smile growing bigger, "Get away from here, from all of this."

"Yeah, get away." Ruby's thoughts were racing back to the last time she had seen Weiss, "You didn't have to do that for me, in the dungeon."

"I couldn't let him do that to you."

"He would have just found another reason to do so to me, it didn't have to be for you – it could have been for anything."

"So you wanted me to just leave you be and let him have his way with you?"

"It wouldn't have been the first time."

"Ruby." Weiss was irritated, "Do not belittle what I did for you, do not tell me what I should or should not have done." She stood over the Gladiator, "I was given the choice to either protect you or walk away completely – and I chose to protect you." Her voice shook, "And I swear to Oum that I would make that same choice as much as it takes to show you that I want to protect you."

Ruby stared at her. Weiss Schnee standing underneath the night sky and by the fireside that made her glow something ethereal.

This time she grabbed Weiss' hand and pulled her into the second embrace that day.

"You… You do so much for a slave like me." Ruby muttered as she buried her face into her hair.

Weiss tightened her hold on the free woman, "You're not a slave," With Ruby there in her arms, it simply clicked. This. This moment with this person. She wanted this for as long as she could have it.

She tried to erase the distance, but there was just none left to erase, so Weiss clutched on to Ruby harder. She felt the warm press of Ruby's lips on temple, then another on her cheek, and on the third kiss, Weiss turned her head to meet them with her own.

It was slow, sensual, the smell of the fire and Ruby's powerful scent filled her being. And it was uplifting and so much sweeter than her favorite wine. Weiss wanted more, her hands snaked up around Ruby's back, she felt her fingers brush across the hard muscles there. She craned her neck and trailed her kisses down Ruby's jawline, trying to memorize her taste. She sucked lightly on her neck and smiled as she felt Ruby's groan reverberate through he throat.

Ruby gripped Weiss' waist tightly, struggling to stay calm at what the woman was doing to her.

"Weiss." Ruby's voice strained against the onslaught of kisses.

She smiled when Ruby said just her name, no titles or anything "What?" Weiss lips were still on Ruby's skin, she only pause to reply as she made way to her collarbone.

The Gladiator took a deep breath, "I can't – This is – " Another labored breathe.

"What if I said that I want this?" Weiss pulled back, Ruby leaned down to rest her forehead against hers, "I want you."

"Do you want this? Do you want me?" Ruby squeezed her waist, "Because I do. I want you."

Blue looked into Silver; wordlessly Weiss grabbed a hold of Ruby's hand and led her upstairs.

They padded silently as to not wake the rest of the Villa. Weiss opened the door and led Ruby inside, for a moment Ruby admired the décor of cool whites and blues, her bed was huge and draped in heavy blankets to accommodate the cold.

Two arms wrapped around her waist, Ruby leaned into the embrace and closed her eyes once she felt those lips on her skin. "Weiss…" She breathed out.

Something about the way Weiss' name hung off of Ruby's lips set a fire within the Merchant.

Her tunic was pulled up over her head and then her form was spun around and made to sit on the bed, the kisses increased with so much fervor that Ruby nearly forgot breathe while she felt those hands roam up and down her body. Weiss straddled Ruby, the Gladiator's hands roaming up and down her legs, pulling at her nightgown to come off.

Once again the kiss broke off and the Merchant stepped out of her garments, she pulled at Ruby's trousers and she quickly complied. The two stood face-to-face, Ruby's rough hands roaming up and down her sides and Weiss tracing the various scars that decorated her. Her hands slowed once they came across the most recent one – the one she received because of Weiss.

Tenderly Weiss leaned down and kissed it, "I'm sorry." She whispered against the wound.

"Don't be." Ruby tilted her chin up to meet her lips once more.

"Say it." Weiss bit Ruby's lower lip in the kiss, "My name." She wanted to hear it more.

"Weiss." She nipped her neck.

Ruby let out a low moan, careful to not make too much noise, "Weiss." She nearly choked out.

They fell back on the bed, the heated kisses continued.

For a brief moment, both pulled away to simply gaze at each other – the moment so surreal for the both of them.

"Ruby." Weiss sang out gently.

* * *

Yang watched intently as Ruby walked about in loose brown breeches and a cream colored tunic that clung to the taut muscles of the seasoned fighter. Weiss didn't have much else in Ruby's tastes, but the former Gladiator didn't complain.

"We can get you some better clothes later, I don't have too many spare sets myself so it'd be good for the both of us." Yang offered.

Ruby looked up at the blond woman, she was still trying to digest that this Huntress was indeed her long lost sister, "I don't have any money."

"Let me worry about that." An easy smile, "You sure you wanna leave the Villa already? It's barely been a day." Yang was slightly concerned.

"I want to see Bolin… he mentioned we – or I should come by and visit the flower shop. I'll be with Ren and Nora." Ruby replied, "And… I don't know, I just feel so restless sitting around."

"You sure I can't tag along?" The blond tried one more time.

"Yang." Ruby smiled when she said the name, "I wanna focus on Bolin right now… and I can't do that if you're there distracting me." She was surprisingly forward, something Yang wasn't expecting.

The Huntress smiled back at her little sister, literally little since the Huntress stood a couple inches taller than the Gladiator, "I can understand that… but you can't blame me for being restless about having you out of my sight."

"I'll be back." Ruby reassured, "And then we can talk… as long as we want."

"All night? Like you and Weiss over there?" Yang wore a suggestive look, "Ice Queen sure does have some pipes on her."

"Y-Yang!" Ruby stuttered as she walked away from the laughing blond.

Nora smiled as she watched Ruby emerge from the back of the Villa after changing into something more suitable for a quick trip into the Kingdom. "You ready?"

"Yeah." Ruby nodded, but her eyes caught something that Ren held in his hand.

"I think it would be smart for you to wear this, considering Bolin and Pyrrha can't walk too far without someone recognizing them." Ren held out the item.

Ruby proudly took the cloak and wrapped it around her.

She pulled up the hood a little tighter to hide herself, but she liked it at the same time. It was green and it was warm and it smelled like the Valesian forests she roamed around from time to time. Ruby Rose followed Ren and Nora through the city streets, they were in the heart of the city and Ruby could see the Coliseum.

It was bristling with life everywhere as everyone had a place to be, fast walking and talking and the different smells of the shops and bakery that lined the streets. Her eyes snapped around as both citizens and slaves were busy with whatever tasks at hand. It was hectic and chaotic but it was peaceful in a way.

"So you've never been really out in the city?" Nora asked.

"Didn't really have much time to go exploring." Ruby answered smoothly, she caught the curious gaze of an onlooker, but she pulled the hood up more to avoid recognition.

Ruby was not in the mood to get swarmed on the streets due to the Reaper.

Ren looked around, "Good thing the flower shop is away from most of the crowds, although a few of Bolin's neighbors are pretty big fans of the gladiators."

"We'll just be careful to not hang around outside then." Ruby answered.

The free woman looked about the buildings as they were leaving the hustle and bustle of the epicenter of it all – the Coliseum. The structure looked absolutely towering on the outside, and it was as if Ruby was seeing the practical monument for the first time.

It just looked so different today than it did when she last fought.

"Through here." Ren motioned, Ruby snapped out of her trance as she followed the two down a side street, it was still lined with various stall, but nothing nearly as crowded as the shops around the Coliseum.

They walked for what seemed to be half a mile before coming to a stop.

"We're here." Nora proudly announced.

Ruby paused as she looked the shop over and saw the various flowers that decorated the front of the store.

"No soliciting." A steady voice called out from the entrance, a slight smile on the shopkeeper's face.

"I honestly couldn't even begin to imagine you as a florist." Ruby broke out into a smile.

"Hey Rubes." Bolin let out, he stepped out into the open.

"Hey Bo." Ruby smiled as she stepped up to him.

It was a fierce hug between the two old friends, Reese watched from inside as both of them began to shudder slightly.

She always knew Bolin was just a big crybaby.

Ren and Nora smiled at the two reunited friends, they stayed in the front of the shop with Reese as they watched the pair head to a room in the back in order to properly talk.

"How's Ruby holding up?" Reese asked, as soon as she caught sight of the small girl with red hair and silver eyes, she automatically knew who it was without having to be introduced.

Nora smiled as she sat down by the window, her gaze caught sunflower that was sitting out, "I think it's pretty over whelming, but she's taking it in stride." Her face faltered, "She's a lot quieter than before…"

"We just need to give her time." Ren reassured, "Like you said, it's over whelming."

Reese nodded, her eyes caught sight of the closed door to the backroom where more pots and plants resided, "Bo was the same when he first came home… he still gets this distant look on his face from time to time if he isn't doing anything, but I know he's still himself – just a little different."

"I don't think any of us could begin to truly fathom what the past couple years have been like for them." Ren thought a loud, "But it doesn't mean that we have to stop trying our best to be there for them."

"Couldn't have said it better myself, Renny."

Ruby looked over the storeroom, she found a spot at an empty workbench to sit down while Bolin took a seat on a stool near by.

"How's life now?" Ruby started out.

"Honestly, it's still taking some adjustment… but it's better than perfect." Bolin smiled gently, "How's Sun doing?"

"We… He's doing alright for himself." The smaller Gladiator looked about the room for the words, "Neptune, Sage and Scarlet have gotten pretty good… Torchwick gave them their own quarters. I think Sage is staying in your old room."

Bolin studied Ruby's face, he wasn't sure if he should say it, but the thought was burning him.

"Ruby… I was there. For Nadir."

His words hung in the air, the room became slightly stifling while Ruby sat in silence, her gaze directed to the floor.

"I think Nadir wanted that."

"For me to kill him?" Ruby's voice cracked, "That wasn't what I wanted."

"He wanted you to end it, you saw him – he was in pain." Bolin was no fool, he knew for a fact that Nadir was nowhere near his usual form during that match.

"But why?" Ruby's voice cracked.

Instinctively, Bolin crossed the room and wrapped both of his arms around his friend. "I don't know… I really don't know what goes on inside that monster's head."

Silently, Ruby's body shook as the tears fell down her face, Bolin stroked her hair and back in an attempt to ease the pain.

For hours, it seemed like the two stood there, clutching at each other as they both mourned the loss of Nadir.

"He's like a brother to me – you and Sun too." Ruby's words were hoarse, "And I killed – "

"You didn't kill him." Bolin pulled apart, he looked vindictively into those silver eyes, " _Roman_ killed him, you gave him peace." He took a deep breath in, "I swore I saw a smile on his face when he threw down his shield."

"Even though we've told him not to do it countless times."

"Roman killed him, and one day, the bastard will pay – some how." Bolin seethed at the thought, "I'm not sure how, but I promise you Ruby, he will get his one day – I swear by Oum he will."

A slight smile formed on her face, "I believe you." She sighed, "And then Sun, Oum – Bo, it just isn't fair."

A hard line was seen on Bolin's face at the thought, Sun was alone now, "It feels like no matter what we do, we just can never get a clean win."

"Not like when we fight in… in _there._ " The smaller Gladiator broke away to look at some of the flowers in the room, "Sun has a couple more years left on his sentence."

"If Roman lets him live that long." Bolin thought back to Nadir, "I thought it was strange that… that Nadir was given away."

Ruby perked up slightly, she recalled some of the whisperings that the house slaves echoed, "It was to settle a debt with the Fall family…"

" _March… revolt... beware… the fall…"_

The memory of the Wilding's last word was fresh on her mind, her eyes scrunched together in confusion – she thought Nadir's last words were strange. Until now, she didn't think much of it since she was going through the first initial shocks of her friend's death, but here where things are so much clearer…

"Bo… what would your last words be in the Arena?" Ruby asked, seemingly out of nowhere.

"What?" Bolin was taken back, "You mean, like my dying words?"

"Yeah… Nadir said something to me, I didn't think much of it at first, but it's bugging me now that… now that we're talking about him." She sighed.

The older Gladiator sighed, he looked up to the ceiling and closed his eyes – he imagined the sands at his feet, a gladius in hand, and the crowds cheering his name.

"Glory to Oum." He muttered with his eyes still closed.

Ruby chose to remain silent at that, she wasn't daft, but she wasn't too sure either.

Instead, Ruby chose to simply sit there and talk to Bolin. It was something they both needed, to just sit and talk with each other about everything and nothing.

* * *

The tell tale sign of spring was in the air that evening, it wasn't nearly as chilly as previous nights, but Weiss still chose to light the hearths since she got cold quite easily – which was something Blake appreciated whole heartedly.

"I was 19 when Roman bought me." Ruby explained to the Faunus, Blake couldn't really explain why it was so easy to talk to the former slave.

"Master Schnee… she bought almost a year ago now." She explained.

"How old are you?" Ruby asked.

"I'm 23 now." Blake looked up at the setting sun, "I was caught stealing."

"Sounds just like a friend of mine, maybe you've heard of him? His name's Sun."

"He's only just one of the most well-known gladiators." Blake teased slightly, "I've heard of him several times, especially when Master Schnee would come back from the Arena."

"He's got a good heart," Ruby teased the hearth to make the flame jump a bit, "He's from Menagerie, left home because he got tired of the same thing day in and day out."

Blake looked down, it sounded all too familiar to her, "I can relate."

"I'm back!" A voice called out from the front of the Villa, "I got you something Rubes."

"Use your inside voice, brute." Weiss stepped out of her study and smiled at the sight of Blake and Ruby sitting together around the fire, "I didn't even know you came back already."

"Klein mentioned that you were working, I didn't want to interrupt," Ruby flashed a smile. "Blake makes really great company."

"She does, doesn't she?" Weiss' expression was gentle as she approached the hearth. "What have you two been talking about?"

"Just… stuff." Ruby shrugged, "I was telling her about Sun."

"The Monkey King." Weiss recalled.

"He actually doesn't like the name too much." Ruby was a bit sheepish.

"Why? It's a good title, better than some of the others like 'Max the Destroyer' or 'The Incinerator'." Weiss joked, Yang laughed at some of the names as she took a seat near Blake by the hearth.

"It's… well, racist." Ruby answered.

Blake's eyes went wide, "That… I didn't think you would know that."

"That the Faunus don't like being called their… traits, Sun only mentioned it in passing."

"Interesting." Yang held out a burlap bag, "I got you some clothes while I went to the Huntsman Guild."

"Yang…" Ruby looked into the bag, a fresh pair of trousers, breeches, and a few tunics that looked like would fit her a lot less snug than the one she currently wore.

"What did you go to the Guild for?" Weiss picked up the blonde's cue to change the subject.

"Just seeing if there's any updates, I was thinking about taking on a hunt." Yang answered, "Just to work off all the excitement of the past few days."

"Is that right?" Weiss questioned.

"Not all of us have a nice partner to do some midnight stretching." Yang winked, her lilac eyes not failing to land on Blake.

"Y-You…" Weiss turned bright pink at the comment.

"It was a little hard to sleep through some of the night." Blake chimed in as she looked to the ground.

"You too, Blake?" Weiss looked mortified and her blue eyes landed on the only one who had chosen to remain silent. "Ruby…" Her tone warned slightly.

"I… uh… it's never occurred to me that people minded your screams before." Ruby started.

" _Before?"_ Yang arched an eyebrow, "Weiss, you dog." She mocked.

Blake let out a giggle as her Master huffed in exasperation.

"There will be no more on this subject." She commanded while taking a spot next to Ruby. Curiously, she looked from Ruby to Yang a few times, the question had been racking through her mind throughout the day, "So… you're sisters, but you don't look like it."

Ruby snapped her attention to Yang, "I… I can't really answer that."

"You really don't remember?" Yang looked at her little sister, "Nora mentioned you hurt your head during the fire."

Ruby nodded, "Madame Weatherly, she's the lady in charge of the orphanage that took me in. She said they found me at sea with my skull busted open." Absentmindedly her hand trailed to the back of her head, the scar had stayed with her.

"That's what that is… I thought that maybe you took a club to the head." Weiss looked at the fighter's head.

"There's only so many orphanages in Vale." Yang began.

"I don't know how long I was at sea for, I actually don't remember any of it." Ruby looked down, "It was a miracle I survived – they gave the bodies from the fire a sea burial, apparently there was just so many. And then when I did make it to Madame Weatherly, I was incoherent for a whole month, no one knew if I would actually survive or heal from the head trauma – but here I am." A slight smile.

"What do you remember?" Yang tried again, the horrifying scene of their home collapsing was something that still haunted her dreams.

"Just… thick smoke, everything was so hot, someone yelled to run to the river…" Ruby tried, "And then I remember a little girl with blond hair and lilac eyes, every time I try to remember you all I can see is forests, you, a basket of strawberries, and then me calling your name – but that's it."

"You were so young when it happened." The Huntress suppressed a tear from falling, she was surprised by a light touch at her leg. Yang looked up to see Blake there, comforting her the best she can. Slowly, Yang put her hand on top of the Faunus'. Weiss said nothing as she observed the exchange.

Yang cleared her throat, "Your mother is Summer Rose, she died when you were about three years old – a pack of Beowolves caught her off guard on Patch… she didn't have a weapon. Your… Our father is Taiyang Xiao-Long, after Summer died… I think that was the tipping point, he went somewhere really dark and that left us alone in our home for a very long time." She took a deep breath, "Taiyang abandoned us, and then I did what I could to help raise you – the neighbors did their best to help out too. Everyone was so nice."

Ruby nodded as she took the information in, nothing was ringing any bells but Yang's words sounded familiar some how.

"It started early morning, not sure how, but it started in the stables and by the time anyone could do anything it was already too late. We woke up and our home was on fire." Yang continued on, "I ran outside, but… I didn't realize you were still stuck in the house, I heard you crying… and then the door collapsed, and then after that the house."

Ruby closed her eyes, she tried to remember that dream, "I think the backside of the house collapsed first before the whole thing came down, and then I managed to run out. Every now and then I'll have these dreams where I'm surrounded by smoke, but at the last second before I run out of air, a hole always opens up and I can run out."

"I passed out due to all the smoke, when I woke up I was at a relief station that had been put together." Yang smiled bitterly, "It was sheer luck that Qrow had come to town, he found me."

"If that was luck, then it was an act of Oum that I survived at all." Ruby looked down, "This… to think I'd see you here of all places."

"Yeah, it's incredible, it really is." Yang looked up at her sister, "Qrow took me under his wing, for two years we searched all over Remnant to find my mom – Raven."

"Did you find her?" Ruby asked, curious as to whom this Qrow and Raven were, both names did sound vaguely familiar to her.

"I… I did we found her right outside of Mistral actually, but... she wasn't ready to have me in her life, and I don't think she'll ever be." Yang tightened the hold she had on Blake's hand, "And then after that, me and Qrow kept travelling around."

"You said this was your first time in Mistral though." Weiss was a little confused.

"Trust me, it is. I never once step foot in this kingdom until recently. During our travels, Qrow and I would go everywhere but here because… well because Raven's around here." Yang let out, "After hearing stories of Pyrrha fighting the Reaper." She looked up at Ruby who smiled sheepishly, "I realized how much I've missed out on not purposely coming here."

"I'm glad you did." Ruby took a deep breath, "Tell me more about Qrow."

Yang smiled, she looked her over, "Well… he's our Uncle."

Blake smiled to herself as she sat and listened to the two reunited sisters interact with each other, each asking endless questions about the other's life. The hand Yang placed over hers didn't bother to move, instead it was rather animated as it would clutch to hers during exciting stories, and then twitch ever so subtly when they got to a more remorse topic – the first time Yang had seen what a Grimm horde does when left uncheck for too long.

Weiss was getting ready to get up and leave before she felt a warm hand on her arm, she looked over and glanced at Ruby who was engrossed in a story that Yang was telling about her first time going on a hunt as a Huntress. The Schnee Merchant complied and opted to stay sitting next to the Gladiator a little longer, leaning into the strong body as Yang continued on her story with her sister listening intently.

And Ruby – she told stories about her time in the army as a scout, the missions she had went on and some of the bad guys she had fought in order to liberate small towns way out in the country. Some stories from her upbringing in the orphanage, how she still kept up with Madame Weatherly, dinners with Nora and Ren. Then the way she talked about her cottage, it made Yang wish that she could see it for herself one day.

The home that Ruby had made for herself.

The whole time the two traded stories, Blake and Weiss would sit and actively listen, offering a comment here and there, but most importantly the two provided some small strength to keep going. The strength to begin their journey to rebuild this long-lost bond between sisters.

And just like that, the setting sun turned into the night sky, Yang and Ruby still went at it with their quiet conversation.

"Perhaps it's time we put Weiss to bed." Blake looked over at the sleeping Merchant, Ruby looked to the side and was ashamed to say that she was too engrossed in the conversation to have noticed.

Yang smiled, "That's the first time I heard you say her first name." She pointed out.

Blake looked panicked, "I didn't mean to – "

"I'm not mad, but I think you should try calling her that when she's not sleeping." Yang looked down at the Faunus, "Something tells me that Weiss wouldn't mind at all."

"You think so?" Blake questioned.

"I know so." Ruby smiled gently at her new found friend, "I'll take her up to her room."

"Don't bother pretending you're coming back down, I'm sure Weissy wouldn't mind a cuddle buddy." Yang jested.

"Shut up." Ruby gave a toothy grin to her sister, easily she swept up Weiss into her arms began to walk to the master bedroom upstairs.

Blake smiled, she looked down at Yang's hand that was still intertwined with her own, a light blush crept upon her face as she noticed the proximity between the two.

"Getting cold feet, Kitten?" Yang teased, "Oh wait – sorry, I forget that you don't really like that." She genuinely felt apologetic for the slip.

The Faunus gave her companion a side eye stare, "I'll forgive you this one time." Blake said in a mock seriousness.

"How benevolent of you." Yang returned the favor.

"It's been a crazy few days for you, hasn't it?" She questioned, a slight chill swept through the room and despite the fire, Blake shivered.

Yang took note and draped her arm around the smaller slave, "It has been." Her voice was gentle.

"Yang…" Blake let out, "I'm a slave you know…"

"You're a Faunus, actually, and it's a temporary arrangement." Yang quietly corrected, "And I could really give a damn."

"I have a sentence I need to finish out." She tried again.

"And you'll be here with Weiss for the rest of it, and then you'll be free to do whatever you please." Yang pushed, she leaned her head against Blake's "I've never been so enamored by a single woman before." She admitted with her lips a scant inch away from the slave's.

The adrenaline rushed to her cheeks as she watched in slow motion those lips approach her own, for several nights now she wondered what it would feel like against her own, "I…" Blake frowned slightly, she pushed the Huntress away, "I can't."

It was Yang's turn to frown, "Why not?" The blonde was so sure of herself that she had been reading into Blake's reactions right the past few weeks.

"It's… complicated." She bit the inside of her cheek at the thought.

 _ **When it comes in like a Lion and goes out like a Lamb.**_

"Complicated?" Yang repeated, she let the word hang in the air for a bit as she mulled through whatever it was that was racing through her mind, "Is it because I'm a human?"

"No!" Blake exclaimed, her hands raised, "I'm just… I need time, please." Despite her weak protest, her heart was thumping loudly in her ears as she replayed the scenario that was about to unfold.

"Do you think I'm toying with you?" Yang offered, "I'm not, I don't see you as a… slave, just someone in a tough situation."

'Dust, just stop talking. You're far too kind.' Blake thought to herself as she attempted to let those words fall on deaf ears. "I… Yes, yes I do." She lied.

A dejected look was seen on the Huntress' face, "I swear I'm not." Yang looked down at the ground, "I mean it, I respect you in so many ways. You're kind in the way that you wake up early before Klein does in order to do the outside chores so that his back won't bother him the rest of the day. I like the way you bring Weiss a cup of wine without even asking when she's been working through paperwork all morning. It's cute when you're curled up by the hearth, reading your stories and poems that's been hanging around in that growing library. Then the way your right ear has a slight twitch when you find something amusing."

Blake turned away in an attempt to hide the growing blush on her face, Yang had other ideas as she took the tip of her thumb and fore finger to the Faunus' chin to tilt her head back in the Huntress' direction, "And then your eyes always give you away whenever you tell a white lie."

With a slight gasp, Yang nearly toppled backwards as Blake closed the distance between the two. For Blake, she tasted something wild and free, like a dense forest coated in morning dew, it was refreshing.

And for Yang, she tasted lavender, just sweet and gentle lavender that coaxed so strongly at her heart.

* * *

Jaune Arc smiled lightly as he leaned back on the bench outside, March had rolled in strongly and brought with it a comfortable breeze and warm sunshine as they enjoyed some wine and tea out in Weiss' courtyard.

"About time to go back, isn't it?" Ren asked as he looked up at the Valesian Commander.

The Shield of Vale nodded, "Yesterday was the last of them, in a week or so we'll all ship out together to go back to Vale… On that vessel you guys snuck aboard on." He narrowed his eyes playfully at the two scouts who sat across from him.

"We had good reason too!" Nora proclaimed in a huff, Pyrrha laughed at the girl's antics.

"Perhaps I'll come along too and visit Vale, the stories you've told me of Forever Fall Forest has simply captivated me." Pyrrha offered.

"You sure you aren't captivated by _somebody_ else?" Weiss said just loud enough for just the Mistrali Commander to hear.

"Hello pot, its kettle." Pyrrha shot back.

Ruby (while dressed in the new clothes her sister got for her) watched the exchange between all her friends, it was the first time that she had seen Pyrrha since her release nearly a week ago now. Her and Commander Arc had been going around freeing the other slaves who were in a similar predicament as hers. Now the deed was done and the prisoners could go home.

'Home…' Ruby thought to herself, she looked over at Weiss – the woman she had shared a bed with every night now.

" _March… revolt… beware… the fall."_

'Beware… the Fall… family.' Ruby finished mentally, Nadir's words had been echoing through her head every day now.

"Commander Nikos…" Ruby began.

"Please, Pyrrha is just fine." The Mistrali champion flashed a smile, "You have had my utmost respect ever since we crossed swords."

Ruby let out a breath of relief she didn't even know she was holding, "Thank you."

"What is it that you wanted?" asked Pyrrha.

"I need to talk to you." The Gladiator had a serious expression, "In private."

"What's it about?" The Mistrali Commander stood and motioned Ruby to follow, Jaune looked up perplex, but dropped it when he saw Pyrrha wave a hand at him.

"Nadir's last words."

* * *

 **A/N:**

I'm one lucky duck. I got pretty sick after posting Chapter 15 and got to take a few days off work - which meant that I literally had days dedicated to writing. So I was able to finish penning Chapter 16 and then some (and by some, I mean a lot of some).

Really happy to hear that a lot of you liked how the last chapter went, and it was definitely a lot of fun writing up this whole chapter with Ruby as a free woman. Really liberating. Looking at the date, I realize now that it's been nearly a year since I posted the first chapter of Gladiator - so shout out to everyone who has supported and liked this story since day one.

And you're right GrnDrgnzrd, it's definitely not over yet.

Hope you guys enjoyed the read and am looking forward to seeing a lot of you in the next one.

Cheers,

DevilRed


	17. Forget Me Not

It was warm outside, Ruby took a deep breathe of the Mistrali air, she definitely knew that March had arrived. She thought back to the conversation she shared with the Mistrali Commander yesterday.

" _Ruby, please don't mention this to anyone," Pyrrha pleaded, "The implication behind – the Fall family, Salem's a Councilman that was appointed by the King… to accuse her of treason, practically unheard of."_

" _Got it…" Ruby didn't want to stir the pot, not when she herself had just earned her freedom back._

" _But I promise you," There was a certain conviction in her eyes, "I will talk about this with my father, he too is a Councilman and I'm sure he'll have a better idea of what to do with… this information."_

" _Thank you, and I apologize – it's just that I know Nadir wouldn't have said something so whimsical with his dying breath." Ruby reasoned._

" _I believe you, I truly do."_

"What's on your mind?" Weiss asked once she approached the fighter.

"A lot of things," Ruby smiled softly at her, "I thought you were going to be hard at work with Velvet today?" She had met the rabbit Faunus a few times whenever the girl would come over to help take care of the paperwork, "Aren't you supposed to be opening up your headquarters soon?"

Weiss nodded, "I decided to take today off, take off from work." It was partially true.

Jaune Arc and the rest of the released POWs were supposed to be leaving in a week, Weiss Schnee would be lying if she said she was completely happy to hear the news. Even though Ruby hadn't outright said it, she knew she was going to go home to Vale. The few times that Ruby would go out to town, she would gladly wear the forest green cloak that Weiss learned was given only to Valesian scouts. The silver badge that bore Vale's symbol was always polished and helped clasped it together.

"A day off? Wait until Yang catches wind of that." Ruby joked, she picked up quickly how much Yang liked to antagonize the Merchant.

"Maybe she will, if she stops fawning all over Blake." Weiss rolled her eyes sarcastically; lately the pair had been inseparable.

"You don't like it?" Ruby was a bit surprised.

Weiss lightly hit her shoulder, "It was a joke, I'm glad Blake's been having a lot of fun lately… don't tell Yang, but I'm fortunate that she managed to stumble her way here."

"I was about to say." The former slave grinned at Weiss.

"Yeah – pot, kettle, whatever."

"You make a cute pot." Ruby flirted; she planted a soft kiss on Weiss' forehead. Before she could pull away, two gentle hands caught her cheeks and pulled her lips to the merchant's.

"You make a strong kettle." She mumbled against Ruby's lips, "Where is your sister?"

"She went with Blake and Klein to go shopping in town for dinner tonight." Ruby answered.

"You didn't want to go?"

"I was hoping to catch you whenever you had down time." Silver eyes sparkled, "Who would have thought that I'd be so lucky to catch you on your day off."

"Want to go for a walk?" Weiss offered, "There's field not too far from here, not a lot of people go."

"I would love to."

* * *

The sea breeze blew gently, it caught the ends of Yang's brown coat as she walked through town. Blake was wearing flowing robes that were reminiscent of Weiss' to accommodate the warmer weather, Yang couldn't think of anyone who looked more stunning than the Faunus in front of her.

Yang looked over at the various stalls that lined the main road leading into the great port, she looked over and caught a certain Faunus staring at her, but before more could be delved upon, Blake looked away with a slight blush on her face.

The Huntress smirked to herself and began to wander a bit closer to the Faunus as she compared a few apples together with Klein.

"What're we eating tonight?" Yang asked, her lips inches away from Blake's ear.

"U-uh…" The blush on Blake's face grew, which only caused Yang smirk to grow into a toothy smile.

Klein sighed and shook his head, he smiled at the thought of how inseparable the two have been as of late.

"Thinking of making a stew with an apple pie for dessert, Blake has gotten very adept at making the dessert since the first time I showed her," Klein answered after he let out a sigh, "Yang, do you mind going with Blake down to the docks and picking out a fish – preferably tuna."

"Not at all." Yang nodded.

"A-Are you sure, Klein?" Blake was a bit surprised, she always stuck by the manservant when ever they did their shopping.

"Positive, we'll meet over at the usual bakery so we can pick up some flour before heading home. With Yang here we can probably get a much bigger bag of flour to take back." He explained.

"More than happy to help out, Klein." Yang flashed a bright smile to the man, "Let's go then, I'm sure you would love to pick out the tuna for us."

"Shush." Blake quipped back, but the smile on her face betrayed her words as the two went strolling down to the pier.

"Ah… to be young." Klein mused while he took a leisurely stroll about the stalls.

"So…" Yang started, she took a look around the pier and noticed the pub that she and Penny got kicked out of.

"So?" Blake questioned.

"Notice you've been talking to my sister a lot." She looked over at the Faunus, "How is it?"

Blake looked out at the water before answering the question, "We were just kind of talking about our… experience with this." She pointed to her collar.

"She's never really brought up her time as a slave with me yet… I don't wanna push her too hard, but at the same time I just can't help but worry." Yang began, "She's my little sister and I really wanna try my best to understand her."

She looked up at the Huntress, Yang truly had a heart of gold, "It's difficult to talk about it to someone who hasn't been through it, is what I imagine Ruby's going through." The two turned down an empty boardwalk, it was empty, "Ruby's strong, really strong, I admire her for her strength."

"Has she mentioned… anything in particular?" Yang stopped and leaned on the wooden railing, a few seagulls were flying overhead.

Blake pondered a minute, "She trained everyday in order to keep winning in the Arena, she mentioned that if you weren't useful to her old master then you were tossed the side, literally."

Yang nodded her head as she absorbed the information, "She has a lot of scars, and the ones on her back are definitely lashes from a whip." Her stomach sunk when she saw the thick snake-like scars on Ruby's back, she wanted to ask, but a single look from Ruby pleaded with her other wise. "Did she mention anything about it?"

Blake nodded, "She did, her old master would whip the unruly slaves or those who would act out without a second thought. Ruby said she had her moments, but that was about it."

"A little rebel like me." Yang mused, she took a deep breath, "Thank you for telling me that." An apprehensive look encompassed the blonde's face.

"Are you going to be alright?" Blake asked, not missing the look.

"I will be, it's just… Ruby's my little sister, and to think about all those horrors she went through just makes me want to smother her with all my heart." She admitted.

"I don't think Ruby wants that, she doesn't seem like the type to take to pity well."

"It's not pity, I just care, you know?"

"But she might not see it that way." Blake reached a tentative hand to touch Yang's arm, she was careful that no one else saw a slave try to touch a free woman, "Give her time, I said it before – Ruby is incredibly strong." She squeezed Yang's arm, "Just like her big sister."

"She is." Yang looked down at the hand that rested on hers, softly she set her hand on Blake's. "Thank you for talking to Rubes, I really appreciate it."

"Ruby is a good person." Blake smiled brightly, "I think you and her are going to be just fine.

Yang leaned down and placed a chaste kiss on Blake's temple, "Thanks, Blake." She smiled when she saw the Faunus' ears turn a shade of red.

"Y-You're welcome." Blake walked off, determined to find a decent fish stand some where in port.

* * *

"Ruby!" Weiss shrieked in delight as she felt her form being spun around in the field of open tall green grass. She reveled in the feeling of those strong arms wrapped around her waist while the two were playing around in the field.

It started as a quick stop over because Ruby caught sight of the lone tree out in the field, the girl wanted to climb it because it had been years since she climbed one. Weiss remained on the ground watching the spider monkey make her way to the top branch.

Without warning, the tree climber jumped down from such a height that it gave Weiss a shock, and it surprised her more once she felt her form being picked up and spun around.

Together the two fell to the ground, Weiss on top of Ruby and both of them were breathless.

"Why'd you do that?" She chastised while lightly slapping Ruby's chest.

"Impulse." Ruby smirked, she planted a kiss on Weiss' nose, "It's been so long since I've done something childish – I just didn't feel like fighting the urge."

"Dolt." Weiss quipped.

Strong hands ran through the soft fabric of Weiss robes, "I always thought you looked elegant in Mistral's fashion." She grabbed lightly at her robes.

"It's a lot different than what I usually wear in Atlas, thick pelts and warm coats all year round." Weiss settled herself on top of Ruby, her ear resting next to where her heart beat, "If we're talking about fashion, I do have to say that your wolf armor makes you look like a fine officer."

"You should see me in my Valesian get up, made a few heads turn when I first wore it." A smirk, Ruby breathe in deep, the smell of the tall grass and flowers that surrounded them where they lay was calming.

"Someone's getting a big head now." Weiss slapped her shoulder, "Vale…"

Ruby immediately sensed what was going on through Weiss' head, "Yeah, Vale." She snaked her arms around the merchant, "I gotta go home, Weiss… There's just… there's just a lot to deal with here." She squeezed a little tighter, "I can't walk around town without hiding my face or else someone will recognize me, my country lost the war to Mistral, and then…" Ruby trailed off, "Slaves are such a deeply ingrained part of the lifestyle here." She looked down at Weiss, "We don't have slaves anymore in Vale."

"So I've heard." Weiss lifted her head and opted to rest her chin on Ruby's chest so that she can look up at her, "I'm going to miss you," Tears began to build in the corner of her eyes.

"I'll come back." Ruby sat up with Weiss pulled up on her lap, "If there's some things worth coming back here for, one of it is definitely you." Her tone was optimistic.

"One of it?" Weiss repeated.

"Well, there's Bolin… and in a few more years, Sun." Ruby listed off, "I have a feeling you'll be seeing a lot more of Yang too."

"I do too." Weiss giggled, "I'll have to come out to Vale one day, you said that there's a lot of forests in the region."

Ruby nodded her head, "We've got a port too, though nothing as grand as Mistral's " She leaned in closer to the woman in her arms, "Write me?"

"I will." Weiss closed the distance with her lips.

She promised herself that she would never forget this day out in the field with Ruby Rose.

* * *

Yang sat alone at the hearth outside, it was still chilly at night, but not as chilly as before. She traced the constellations in the stars, trying as hard as she could to remember the different ones she learned on her travels. Ruby and Weiss ran off upstairs right after dinner, Yang didn't mention anything of it since the two were particularly touchy with each other that evening.

"Are you leaving too with Ruby?" She didn't have to turn to see who it was.

Yang nodded, "Yeah, I've been here for almost a month now. I'm sure Uncle Qrow is going to either get restless or drink himself bored" She chuckled at the thought.

"I see." Blake took a seat next to the blond at the hearth, instinctively she tucked her feet under her and leaned in closer to her companion. Yang complied by wrapping an arm around her shoulder.

"Gonna miss me?"

"Maybe."

"What are you doing out here? It's pretty late, I thought you'd be sleeping by now."

Blake looked down at the ground, "It's not hard to figure out what woke me up."

Yang laughed heartily, "Non-stop, huh?" She was referring to Weiss and Ruby doing their midnight stretches _again._ "Ruby's leaving soon, so maybe they're going to try to make up for all that time."

"I'm not sure how Klein sleeps through all of it." The Faunus pondered for a minute.

"Klein's partially deaf from his time in the Navy." Yang answered, "Stood too close to the canon fire."

"That must be bliss." Blake smiled at the thought.

Yang looked down at her, "Do you mind if I ask a personal question?"

Amber eyes looked up into hers, "No, what's up?"

"Menagerie…" Yang started, "Are you related to Chief Ghira Belladonna?" She had been curious, "I was in Weiss' study and saw… I guess a receipt of your purchase, your full name was on it."

A sigh, "Yeah."

"I met him, really caring guy, loves his people." The Huntress let out, "Why did you want to leave?"

"I was 17 when I left home," Blake looked down at the hearth, the coals were only embers but it provided enough heat, "I just felt so restricted, bored, and I used to spend so much time in port listening to the different sailors that came through – I fell in love with the stories of Mistral." She smiled to herself at the thought, "I heard about how if you had enough grit and heart you can really make something out of yourself, I was captivated by stories of triumphant gladiators that earned their freedom in valiant fights, and how Mistral was the trade epicenter of Remnant – you were able to find a little bit of everything there."

Yang nodded as she listened intently to Blake's story, "What happened?"

"Reality set in, a little too late." Blake frowned, "I snuck on board a ship heading to here, coming to Mistral was the first time I became very aware that I am a _Faunus."_ She trailed off at that.

"I got it." Yang was no stranger to some of the hardships that the Faunus were subjected to, especially here where it was obvious they were treated as second class citizens. "What do you think now?"

"I think that I can't wait to get this collar off and leave here, maybe go back home to Menagerie." Blake forced herself to keep her gaze trained on the hearth, lest her little tell gave her away to the lie.

"Don't mind being here as much?" Yang yawned loudly, "Sorry, getting a little late."

Blake giggled, "You yawn like a lion Faunus – but no… I guess I don't mind it here too much."

"I've heard the analogy a few times." A sleepy smile, "I'll come around and visit, there's plenty of hunts in the area, come by and bug Weiss every time I do – though I may need to keep Uncle Qrow in town, not sure how she'll take to him."

"Despite her ranting, I don't think she minds all that much." Blake also began to yawn.

At that, Yang shifted both their forms so that they were lying down on the cushions of the outdoor patio. She grabbed the blanket that was usually folded neatly on the arm and spread across the both of them.

"What are you doing?" Blake pushed herself up slightly on top of Yang.

"Sleeping." Came the lax reply, "I don't think I can fall asleep in my room listening to those two being so lovey dovey all night."

"I can – "

"I don't mind it, one bit." Yang placed her hand on Blake's cheek, she traced a soft circle there and began to trail her hand down the Faunus' neck, her fingers grazing the slave collar, "Do you mind?"

"Not at all."

Gently, the Huntress arched her neck forward, a soft kiss was planted on the Faunus' supple lips. Blake leaned back into it when she felt Yang getting ready to pull away. It was gentle, caring, and serene.

"Good night, Yang."

"Night, Blake."

* * *

"It's just the word of a slave girl."

" _ **Free woman."**_ Oobleck corrected.

"Right, my apologies." Atreus looked down at the Scholar's desk.

"Your daughter still voiced her concern to you. And is not strange that Torchwick – man who is notorious for holding on to his precious fighters – would simply give away a prized fighter like the Wilding… And then for the Wilding to die so soon after?" Bartholomew Oobleck, Councilman of the Scholar, paced about his office as he mulled over the information. "Atreus… I said it before that I thought it suspicious of Salem and those who are overtly loyal to her have had an increase in armed guards around their Villas."

"Madness, _Salem is the Councilman of the King_ , appointed by King Lionheart himself – a man who I have followed into battle before." Atreus defended, "And it makes sense, the amount of break-ins and increased violent crimes towards the nobles."

"Which don't add up to anything," Oobleck interjected, "Atreus, we have not been able to pin point any particular reason why there is such a spike in violent crimes and theft for the past year."

"The war – "

"The war that we have won." Oobleck hissed, "Please, think it over, you know how I have held… suspicions towards the Fall family, and on top of that they have brought Roman Torchwick into their inner-circle."

Atreus sighed, despite House Torchwick and House Nikos' deep rooted history with each other, there was always something in the way that Roman made his skin crawl. "Bartholomew."

"Atreus, I know you always try to see the good in people, that's why you're always elected back into the seat time and time again, but please believe me when I say that my instincts say to believe that what Ruby Rose has said is true." Oobleck tried to reason once more.

The red short was a mangled mess as the great warrior ran his hand through it for the hundredth time that night, "With this, it _somewhat_ does add up to Salem's strange behavior as of late."

"I know that she's the King's Councilman, but she has her nose in _far too many_ affairs that should be handled by the King himself." The Scholar was referring trade agreements with other kingdoms, contracts and negotiations that would affect the entire Mistrali populace, even laws and decrees that should only be over seen by King Lionheart himself.

"Barty," Atreus' tone dropped down to it's serious octave, "If you're wrong and we follow through with this accusation against House Fall… do you know what this means for us?"

 **Treason.**

Oobleck sighed and smiled at the childhood nickname, "Atty, I would never ask you to do something that I wouldn't do – you know this."

"I know." The warrior sighed once more, "Gather your evidence, properly, and I'll think this through – please, just give me some time."

"For you, I'll give you all the time you need, old friend."

* * *

"Here, where the Villa's begin to intersect with the heart of the city." Mercury pointed to a map that showed the opening of an underground tunnel that had been long forgotten by the expansion of the city. "And here, in between the castle and the main gate."

"He's vindictive, that Taurus." Salem was impressed.

"He wants to shed as much noble blood as possible, his hatred knows no bounds, Mistress." Mercury explained.

"When will it happen?"

"Night of the new moon, they're going to use the cover of darkness to spread the master key around." He held up the earth crystal that he used to take off his collar earlier, "Those slaves are crafty ones for having figured out a way to take off the collars without killing the wearer."

"Unbreakable and inescapable, is how they advertised these things when they first created them." Cinder looked at the contraption, "How many master keys did they create?"

"By my count, at least a hundred – it wasn't cheap, the technology they needed to create such a thing is pretty sophisticated, they went through a lot of test runs before they got it right." Mercury explained. "As I said before, they have a communication network already set up with all of those that have infiltrated the nobility as well as some of the plants and big farms."

"Did you know that slaves out number us 3 to 1?" Salem let out casually.

"Do you think you can control this… Mother?" Cinder was worried at the thought.

"What are a couple dozen ants to a giant?" Salem looked over the map, "Have the guards take up positions at these marked positions. Is all of our hired swords in the city now, Roman?"

"Yes, Mistress." Roman bowed his head, "And we smuggled in enough explosives to take care of the tunnels."

"Good. Once everything is set in motion, I'll take charge of the army and quell whatever is left over." Hazel Rainart, famed Commander in the Mistrali Army, instructed.

Tyrian Callows looked at the map, "Once you give me the signal, I'll route the rebelling slaves positions at the gates." Another noble who fought in the war against Vale, "I'll push my forces in and started cleaning up the nobles that escaped their mark."

Any and all nobles that weren't directly supportive to Salem's faction are to be executed. Mercury took special measures to make sure each noble was designated a slave assassin.

"I'll give you 3 hours after the slave's start their offensive, I'll blow the explosives to the slave's underground headquarters and then seal off the main entrances Mercury pointed out." Arthur Watts crossed his arms as he observed the strategy.

"Mercury, you know where to lead the bulk of the rebel slaves when it's your turn? I'll have my forces at the castles hiding and waiting for the ambush." Salem looked at the other nobles who supported her cause, there was easily 30 people in the room.

"Of course, Castle courtyard, they won't expect it since they think they'll have the upper hand." Mercury looked over at Roman, "Just make sure your bunch stays out of it."

"They'll be under lock and key on top of the plus of up of hire swords, plus Villa Torchwick is notorious for it's ability to lock down like a castle of it's own. I doubt the chaos will be able to make its way to my front door step." Roman had begun to make the necessary preparations to make sure his family Villa would remain standing.

"Why not just kill them all?" Emerald looked on with a bored expression.

"Because they're still valuable," Roman shot back. "When is the new moon supposed to take place?"

"Three days time."

* * *

A/N:

Well, I have a confession to make: I'm a little sad. I've written practically non-stop for the past few days, forgone some rituals (my biceps are bigger than some of my friends _calfs..._ I know, I'm bragging) to focus on _finishing_ Gladiator... and it's almost done. I alluded to the intended chapter count before in previous A/N's and I'm really proud to say that as of today I have finished penning Chapter 22 and will work on _**the final chapter**_ soon as a nice little bow on top. Over the next week or so I'll get into the habit of posting a lot more frequently than what a lot of you are used to - doing some final edits before I post it on here.

Welling up a bit on the inside, but I'm excited as well because I get to work on this Bumblebee story that's been knocking around my head for far too long.

Hope you guys enjoyed this edition of Gladiator. I hope a lot of you are with me once we bring this journey to an end.

Cheers,

DevilRed


	18. Last Words

" _I promise you, Blake. I will make all the damned nobilities pay for this - the Schnee's most of all for what they do to our kind."_

Blake awoke in a cold sweat alone in her room, the memory she dreamed of still burned in her mind's eye. It had been nearly a year since she had last seen Adam Taurus and then she naively volunteered to go out and steal much needed resources.

And how she got caught.

How she was beaten within an inch of death.

How the people sneered and jeered at her.

How she wished that she had died instead of going through these harsh conditions at the slave market. She thought her life barely surviving on the streets of Mistral was terrible – but as a slave! Oh Oum… she didn't know where to begin.

Then the one to save her should be none other than an Schnee.

Blake tried - she tried to her hate her, Weiss Schnee, she tried for the sake of her fellow oppressed slaves to hate this noble – especially after Adam's people had tracked her down. Adam's personal note of how pleased he had been when he found out that fate smiled down fortunately on their cause to have brought Blake to Weiss Schnee.

But if Adam knew where to find Blake after she had been purchased, then why didn't he _try_ harder to _release_ her from the slave market? Why didn't he try to _save_ her before they put this blasted collar around her neck?

These were the questions and thoughts that were burning in her mind as she stood over a sleeping Weiss Schnee with a knife in hand - her slave collar lay forgotten outside by that peculiar crack in the wall.

Contemplating the firestorm that surged within her on whether or not she should carry out her orders she received earlier – that tonight was the night they were going to attack. Blake Belladonna took a deep breath and looked down at the sleeping form.

 **Sleeping alone.**

'Wait.' Blake thought, she was a fool; Weiss hadn't been sleeping alone at all the past few weeks.

"What are you doing?" A voice emanated from behind her.

Slowly, Blake turned and faced what she could only describe as the Grim Reaper itself.

Silver eyes flashed to the knife, and immediately Blake became tense. As soon as Blake felt the pressure in the air build, did the Faunus act.

'She's unarmed, but I'm fast.' Blake assumed as she lunged at the unarmed girl, what she didn't expect was for Ruby Rose to act faster. With steadfast hands, it all became a blur, Blake's thrusts were easily parried and the sheer strength of the Gladiator was stifling as Ruby made quick work of the would-be assailant.

"What's going on?!" Weiss shrieked as she touched the fire dust crystal lamp in the room. The commotion in the room had awoken her.

Ruby sported a new gash on her arm as she held Blake face down on to the ground, her gaze was intense, but softened to a surprised one as she looked over Blake over.

"Where's your collar, Blake?" Ruby questioned, her grip still strong on the Faunus.

Blake bit the inside of her cheek, she was foolish, she had miscalculated.

'I grew soft on them.' She realized bitterly as she tasted blood on the inside of her mouth from biting down too hard.

"I heard a noise…" Yang trailed off as she stood at the doorway of the room, taking in the scene before her.

"Blake! What's going on?!" Weiss commanded, thankful that she and Ruby had opted out of some nightly activities and went to bed instead.

"I…" Blake's voice cracked, tears streaming down her face, 'I'm a traitor… not only to my brethren, but to them as well.' Once the rebellion started and they see that Weiss Schnee was still alive, her failure would surely be communicated to Adam.

"Blake." Yang's voice cut through the air, she put a hand on Ruby's shoulder, "Let her go, she can't do anything."

Ruby stared hard at the Faunus and then back up at Yang, her eyes fell to the last occupant of the house who made his way into the bedroom – Klein was white as a sheet as he tried to understand what was going on.

Reluctantly, Ruby released the assailant.

"Blake, explain." Yang tried again, she crouched down so that she was eye level with the Faunus who remained sitting on the floor.

"I'm a shit assassin." Blake let out.

Yang chuckled at the comment, "I can tell." She motioned to the fallen weapon.

"You… were going to murder me?" Weiss' voice was hurt.

"I… Yes, that was my assignment." Blake rubbed her neck; the collar was taken off as soon as she saw the key in that secret drop point out in the wall, along with a note.

 _ **Bring me the head of the Schnee.**_

"You… You – "

"Stop." Klein held out his hand, Weiss was surprised as her usual mild manner servant spoke up so strongly, "Why? Why didn't you do it sooner?"

"I was waiting for my orders." Blake answered the man.

"Who ordered you?" The man had done his time in Atlas' Navy, and his instincts were screaming at him that something else was going on.

"There's… a slave rebellion. Tonight. The Kingdom will fall."

"What." Weiss went wide-eyed at the comment. "So… all of this, was just an act? A ploy to get close to me?"

"It was… at first." Blake looked down, "Just get it over with and kill me already, please." The tears were uncontrollable at this point.

"Give me the knife, Ruby." Weiss demanded.

Silently, Ruby complied and handed the weapon over to the Merchant.

"Wait, no!" Yang yelled out in frustration and at once she made a grab for Weiss, Ruby once again showed off her speed as she wrestled Yang to the ground. The two rolled around for a bit before a sharp yell got their attention.

"Stop it!" Weiss hollered and she turned her attention back to the Faunus who remained seated on her bedroom floor. She held the tip of the blade to Blake's neck, "Blake." The woman in question closed her eyes, "Was it all a ploy? Has everything that happened the past year been false, was none of it true?"

Blake held her breath, closed her eyes, and then opened them again, "No… it was true." Another tear fell, "I… You made me soft, Weiss." Blake said softly, "I'm sorry."

A loud slap rang across the room, the sound of a metal hitting the ground echoed through out the room.

Wordlessly Weiss stepped away and left her room, leaving the rest of the occupants.

"We need to move fast," Klein spoke up, "You said the Kingdom will fall, how sure of you are that?"

Blake looked up at the servant; she began to open her mouth.

But she was cut off by the sounds of explosions in the distance.

* * *

"Barty! Move!" Atreus roared while another attacker launched themselves through the castle's corridor.

"How did they get in?" Oobleck was perplexed as they quickly jogged through the corridors, "Where's the King?"

"Probably in his room, where are the blasted guards?" Atreus looked around desperately, he easily skewered the attacker with a one handed sword thrust, Atreus Nikos was in no way letting old age get to him.

All the Councilmen were asleep in the Castle when the explosion went off; first Atreus heard the blood curling scream of a woman and then harsh sounds of swords hitting the stone. He didn't have time to check on Salem since an armed contingent of attackers met him at his doorway, instead he escaped through a secret backdoor that led him to another corridor, where he ran into Oobleck who was also trying to outrun his attackers.

Atreus was thankful he remembered to grab his sword after he hacked through another attacker that was waiting for them in the shadow of the corridor. Oobleck let out a tense sigh as the two continued down.

"The scream earlier… it sounded like Salem." Oobleck let out.

Atreus had a morbid look on his face, "I couldn't check, there was a gaggle of them in the main hallway that blocked my way to her room."

"Oum, what is going on?" He was confused.

They made their way down the twists and turns of the castle; both Councilmen were confused at the lack of guards.

"Of all the nights for these bastards to slack off." Atreus cursed, "Where are the Oum forsaken guards hiding out at?!"

"Atreus… I don't have a good feeling about any of this." Oobleck voiced, there were usually guards stationed everywhere at all times.

They approached the entrance to the throne room and the two hurriedly rushed inside in hopes that they had beaten the invaders to him.

"Having a nice evening, boys?" Both men's blood turned cold at the feminine voice.

"I fucking knew it." Bartholomew Oobleck cursed.

"Y-You…" Atreus looked at the bloodied mess at the foot of the throne.

King Leonardo Lionheart lay dead with a dagger in his back.

"HE TRUSTED YOU!" Atreus bellowed, his legs pumping as he charged the woman sitting on the throne, "YOU ARE SUPPOSED TO BE THE KING'S COUNCILMAN!"

"Atty, no!" Oobleck shouted, from the corner of his eye he saw the arrow let loose.

"Just like you said, Mother." Cinder Fall came out of the shadows with a bow in hand.

Atreus Nikos looked down at the arrow sticking out from his chest, eyes raging with betrayal and anger.

"You forgot one more." Emerald raised her bow and knocked back an arrow.

She didn't expect the Nikos warrior to charge at her so quickly, knocking the arrow out of its path.

"Barty, run!" Atreus yelled out, only for a fit of coughing to take over and a stream of blood to trickle down his chin.

"I forgot to mention, it's poisoned." Cinder smirked, her eyes catching the fleeting figure of the Councilman.

"Cinder, go kill him, he must not survive the night." Salem Fall waved her hand off to her daughter, "Report back to me when it's done."

"Yes, mother." Cinder nodded as she took off running with Emerald in tow.

This left the dying Atreus Nikos on his knees in front of the stolen throne, "Why?"

"It's simple… _Atty."_ The nickname was vile when she said it, "Why be the King's Councilman when I could be King? Or in this case, Queen."

"You damned… whore…." Atreus fell into another coughing fit, the wound on his chest also began to leak red. His emerald eyes fell to his fallen King, the man he had followed into battle countless times before in his youth. Back when the now deceased man was known as Prince Leo the Brave.

"Long… live… Mistral."

* * *

"Where are we going?" Yang questioned as she hastily put her great sword on her back, a light bag was hanging at her side.

The occupants of the Schnee Villa wasted no time putting on decent clothes as soon as they heard the initial explosions go off.

"Not to the gates, the original plan was to set up ambushes and traps by the gates so that no one can leave the city by foot." Blake explained.

"They don't have the balls to outright blow the gates down, they don't want to risk a swarm of Grimm coming in." Yang bit her cheek, the amount of chaos going on here would surely attract a few packs of those monsters to the Kingdom's walls, "It would be suicide to try to escape by foot outside with the amount of commotion going down."

"The docks." Klein offered, "It's impossible to close down all the roads to the port, the port is too huge for that."

"But we need a boat, Klein." Weiss was dressed in loose trousers and a coat, Ruby helped her dress and pack in the short amount of time. At her side was a burlap bag containing hastily packed clothes, jewels, and whatever gold lien Weiss had laying around – Ruby insisted on bringing some just in case.

Shouts could be heard outside the Villa.

"This is so well coordinated." Klein muttered while his eyes flicked to Blake who had remained silent the entire t

"If you want me to forgive you…" Weiss was stern as she faced the Faunus, her ears visibly drooped over at the Merchant's tone, "You're going to do your best to help us get out of here."

"…Okay." Blake replied quietly.

"Death to the Schnee's!" A few voices were heard coming from the courtyard, the scuffling of feet clambering over the stonewalls were heard - some was attempting to raid the compound.

Ruby brandished her gladius, despite the night of the full moon, her eyes were able to train themselves in the near pitch-blackness of the night. Her eyes darted from left to right, "Four men!" She called out, knowing that Yang had her great sword held at the ready.

With ease, Ruby ran out to meet the first of the pack, she parried the strike and then pushed him off to the side – Yang Xiao Long finished off the fallen attacker with ease as she cleaved her great sword towards his midsection.

The Gladiator skewered the next opponent, the Huntress easily met the two other attackers that tried to catch her little sister off guard. The sparks of metal clashing with metal flew throughout the dark night – a grizzly scream echoed throughout the courtyard and a man was suddenly without his sword arm.

"You bitch!" One cried, but before he could retaliate, an iron gladius was protruding from his neck.

Yang took care of the last one, she swung her great sword at the man's midsection and his body fell into two heaps.

Ruby caught sight of the _uniform_ some of the men wore, "Where have I seen this before…" It was familiar, but she couldn't quite put her finger on it.

Weiss did her best to not gag at the sight; it was so different with the bodies being so close to you as opposed to watching it from the stands in the Arena.

"Jaune." Ruby mentioned suddenly, Yang looked over at her sister in confusion, "Jaune said he has a boat in port, it should be stocked up by now because he was getting ready to shove off in a day or two." She thanked the skills she learned in the Valesian Army as a scout: think fast and act faster, don't let any detail escape you.

"Do we even know where it's docked?" Blake asked.

"Her Villa isn't too far from here." Weiss looked out the window, the coast was clear for now.

"It'd be nice if you had some horses." Yang complained as they darted quickly out of the Villa. All were armed to some degree, Weiss with a rapier that she took off the wall of her study, Blake with two short swords, Ruby with a gladius, and then Klein with an Altesian blade.

And of course Yang with her great sword.

The group came to a halt as they came across the Nikos Villa.

Which was ablaze in the night.

"Oum no…" Weiss let out as she saw the flames dance about. "Pyrrha…" She nearly fell to her knees, but Ruby caught her with ease.

"Dust be damned!" A voice called out from inside the home, through the front door came crashing through Jaune Arc as he held his precious shield and sword in hand, right behind him came Pyrrha armed with her legendary sword and shield.

"Thank you…" Weiss sighed in relief, "Pyrrha!" She called out.

"Madness!" Jaune exclaimed, "One of the slaves tried to kill me in my sleep." A slight cut on his cheek could be seen.

"Same here." Pyrrha looked back at her family Villa, "They doused the whole place in kerosene before they tried to kill us."

Weiss looked on at the burning building, "We need to get out of here."

"The stables haven't caught fire yet, we can hook a carriage towards the west gate that's away from the-"

"The gates are compromised." Yang let out, "We need to go by the dock."

"That's near the heart of the Kingdom, who knows what's going on there." Jaune interjected.

"And all this fighting is going to attract the Grimm by the hoards, once we step foot outside the walls it's going to be a mad house." Yang pushed back, "Unless you want to try your luck fighting through with what's on your back."

"I see your point." Pyrrha sighed, "But you said the gates were compromised, how do you know that?" She caught sight of Blake.

Blake the slave without a collar on.

"You!" Jaune reached for his blade.

"Enough!" Weiss yelled back sharply, which put the Valesian Commander in his place, "It's already been settled, Blake's on our side."

Jaune narrowed his eyes, but a pat from Pyrrha quelled his anger.

"We need to move quickly, who doesn't know how to ride a horse?" Pyrrha asked the crowd.

Ruby knew how from her time in the Army, Weiss because she learned along side her sister… Pyrrha looked at the rag tag group and saw only one hand in the air.

"I don't know how to ride." Blake let out.

"You'll saddle up with me then." Yang offered, "Do you have enough mounts?"

Pyrrha nodded her head, "Come on, saddle up so that we can get going." She led the group to the stables.

The steeds were restless with the brewing fire and increasing sounds of fighting through out the streets. It took longer than any of them would have liked to calm the horses down before they could even begin to saddle them.

They moved hastily, for Weiss it was a bit of a struggle since she had rarely saddled her own horse and for Ruby she missed a few belts just because of how long it was. Jaune and Yang remained calmed as they corrected and helped the others with their saddle and soon they all started trotting out of the stable.

Ruby looked at the remaining horses, she kicked open the stable and began slapping the horse's rears to get galloping out and away from the burning compound.

"I didn't even think of that." Pyrrha admitted.

Ruby nodded, "I wouldn't want to be tied up in a burning building, so I doubt they would've either." Easily she got up on her steed, the reins she held through sheer muscle memory.

"Stick as closely as possible, I'll lead the way – Ruby and Jaune, can you bring up the rear in case someone tries to attack us." Pyrrha instructed.

"Aye." Ruby and Jaune answered in unison.

"You really were a part of the Army." Jaune smiled.

"Best damn scout you'll ever meet." Ruby quipped back as they rode through the streets.

They galloped a good while, but they were disrupted once they caught sight of a group of armed men who were chasing down an injured rider.

"Hang on tight." Yang instructed to Blake who rode in front of her, Yang gripped the handle of her great sword as she rode ahead to meet the armed riders chasing the injured one.

"Watch out!" One warned out, a majority of the group pulled tightly on the reigns to stop, however two of them were not so lucky once the slab of metal came around and easily cleaved the men in half.

"How do you wield that with one hand?" Blake looked in half horror and half amazement.

"Practice."

Pyrrha rode hard to come to Yang's side, as soon as the armed riders caught sight of the Mistrali Commander did they turn tail and gallop away as fast as possible.

"Pyrrha! By Oum… it's you." Bartholomew Oobleck leaned over his steed, an arrow was sticking out of the horse's hind leg and there were a few sword marks the lightly decorated his arms and sides.

"Oobleck!" Pyrrha let out, she looked the man over.

"Nothing serious, I'll survive." The Councilman explained. "Pyrrha." Oobleck straightened out and he looked Pyrrha in the eyes, "You were right, it's Salem, the Fall family is behind all of this. Cinder and her forces are trying to hunt me down and murder me as we speak. The castle… the castle is no longer safe, not for me."

"Where's my father?" Pyrrha looked around, her father often stayed at the castle to handle business, "How did you escape the castle?"

"Murdered by Salem." Oobleck took a deep breath and kept his gaze steady on the Commander, "There's secret corridors that Salem didn't know about, I used them to escape to the stables. Unfortunately the castle courtyard was taken over by a uniformed guard – but they didn't bear any flags or symbols, nor did they look like our own. I barely rode hard enough to make it out."

Pyrrha Nikos swallowed hard, but a tear still managed to escape, "Father…" She took a deep breath, she closed her eyes and counted to three – once she opened them again those green eyes belonged to Commander Nikos, Champion of Mistral. "If what you said is true… then we need to protect you at all costs."

Oobleck nodded, the realization dawned on him all at once.

"By order of succession, you are Mistral's hope – it's new King." Pyrrha saluted the man.

Oobleck nodded, "We'll discuss those matters later, because those formalities won't matter if we end up dead."

An explosion in the distance interrupted them, a wild battle cry echoed from not so far away.

"Go! We've got them covered!" A familiar voice rang out.

"Nora." Jaune and Ruby looked at each other and immediately the two went riding off towards the sound.

Two blocks over they encountered the fight. Ren making quick work of the armed slaves with his swordplay and then Nora flawlessly covering his back. The two worked perfectly in tandem with each other as they fought off the attackers in order to give another group a few yards down a chance to escape.

Not too far away was Bolin Hori as he held the sword in his hand so familiarly, behind him was his mother, sister, and Reese up against the building as the Gladiator beautifully held off the lone attacker that had managed to slip past Ren and Nora.

"Bo!" Ruby called out while charging towards him on her horse, she leaned over her steed and sunk her sword into the final attacker – she took note that some of the men were dressed in actual armor as opposed to the rags that some of the slaves wore.

And the uniform looked eerily familiar.

"Ruby!" Bolin was glad to see her, "The slaves in the market, they're running amok and attacking anyone that looks remotely well-off, we're trying to leave." He motioned to the two scouts, "They thought it would be good to try and escape through the west gate since this path takes us by Weiss and Pyrrha's Villa."

"Oh Dust, I'm glad you're alright." Ruby hugged the man.

"Ruby!" Reese called out, she wrapped her arms around the smaller Gladiator, "We were worried about you when the first explosions went off."

"The gates are compromised, we're going to go by boat." Jaune explained.

"The main road leading to the port is chaos, we ran right by it while trying to escape." Ren reported, "There's easily a company's worth of revolting slaves, they're well-equipped and they know how to fight. The city guard is having trouble trying to contain the madness… it's not looking good."

"Not good at all, the Inn we were sleeping at didn't last long at all." Nora recalled the gruesome sight they were treated when trying to leave.

"There's other ways to the dock, do you know where your ship is?" Klein asked, the rest of the group had managed to catch up to them.

"South Side with the fishing trawlers, thankfully there wasn't enough space at North Side with the usual travelling vessels." Jaune replied, his thoughts then went to the men, "Fuck… they're supposed to be going home soon." He ran a hand through his blond hair, Jaune Arc was referring to the very men he had worked hard to release from their chains of slavery.

"We saw a few of the POWs from the Inn, they took up arms and started fighting back – with the slaves… but the confusion of it all…" Nora looked down, "It was difficult to tell who was trying to kill us and who was trying to run away."

"Thank you for coming for my family." Bolin let out to the two scouts, "I don't think we would have made it out without you."

"Nora insisted we check on you as soon as we escaped the Inn." Ren clarified., "Those guys in armor, they were hunting you down with a purpose." He noted, "Why?"

"This is the same uniform that the guys who were chasing Oobleck were wearing… And the same uniform as the guys who invaded Weiss' Villa" Ruby observed in, "What's going on?"

"I think they're sell-swords of the sort, no doubt a part of this coup that's taking place." The Scholar let out as he looked around, "This isn't a time to stand around though."

"Roman." Bolin looked up at Ruby once she said the name, "I remember now, some of the new guards he hired were wearing this uniform."

"Ruby…" Bolin started, he saw that the gears in her head were turning wildly.

"He wants us dead that badly?" Ruby looked down at her reins.

"Ruby…" Yang warned, but Blake tightened her hands around Yang's wrists to prevent the girl from doing anything ra

"I… I can't go, not without settling this with that bastard."

Without leaving any room for arguments, Ruby rode off hard towards the Torchwick Villa.

* * *

A/N:

Ides of March indeed.

I think everyone can guess what's about to take place next chapter.

As always, I hope you guys enjoyed the read.

See you all very soon.

Cheers,

DevilRed


	19. Vengeance

"You're insane!"

"What does that make you?"

"Also insane!" Bolin called out over the rushing wind as the two raced down the dirt road, they rode past the sporadic pockets of fighting, the city guard struggling against the sheer amount of slaves.

Not to mention that a good chunk of these rebelling slaves weren't too shabby with a sword, Bolin recognized a very familiar strike combination executed by a slave fighting against a city guard.

It reminded him of Nadir.

As soon as Ruby took off, Bolin started running after her, damned if he was going to run all the way to the Villa on his own two feet in order to make it to Ruby. He didn't get far, Klein headed him off, but before Bolin could protest, the manservant got off his horse.

" _We'll wait for you at the South Side of port."_

In the distance, the dreaded compound came into sight, both pulled tight on their reigns as they saw the contingent of guards that patrolled the walls.

"He's locked it down." Ruby whispered, a litter of bodies were scattered around the Villa; it was obvious that any attempt on the Villa thus far was unsuccessful.

"The tunnels." Bolin mentioned, "He's got an underground entrance that he makes his errand boys use to stay out of sight when going in and out of the compound while he has guests around."

Ruby nodded, he remembered the few times Roman had whipped a slave for using the front door carelessly while he had guests over.

They tied their horses to a nearby tree before sneaking around towards the back of the Villa where they knew the entrance resided, there were two guards posted there and they were no match for Ruby and Bolin combined.

"What's this?" Bolin held out the contraption.

"A warning flare, he tried to shoot it off." Ruby looked it over.

"How come there are not that many guards here." Bolin asked, they looked the door over and found it locked.

"Not exactly public knowledge that this entrance exists," Ruby looked down at the dead guards and began going through their pockets, "He probably posted only two here to make sure not a lot of attention is brought to it."

Ruby Rose smiled at the dead man's stupidity as she held up the key to the door.

"And they probably weren't expecting people like us to coming knocking." Bolin grinned.

The two continued down the corridor, an eerie feeling crept its way up Ruby's spine as they treaded quietly through the tunnels.

"Ruby… what's the plan?" Bolin asked quietly as they walked down the corridor, they were going to come close to the house slave corridors.

"You saw how they fought, if we can get the guys free then taking over won't be a problem."

Then a single set of footsteps echoed off of the hallways.

The two pressed themselves up against the wall as tightly as possible, waiting by corner for the guards to round it.

"Hey – " The warning was cut short, both Bolin and Ruby aimed their swords for the man's neck to drown out any other words he might have had.

"We need to move quickly." Ruby looked down at the man gurgling in his own blood, his neck was barely hanging on to the rest of his body.

"Seems like security isn't as heavy as upstairs." Bolin observed as they walked quickly down the hallway.

"Ruby!" A familiar voice called out.

"Octavia?" Ruby looked into the cell – that horrible cell that no one had good memories of, all of the house slaves were locked inside, a few perked up once they saw who it was that stood outside their cells.

"Don't make any noise." Bolin teemed quickly, the house slaves nodded their heads and the two looked over the cell.

"What are you doing here?" Octavia was on the verge of tears when she saw the two in front of her, "You're insane, there's guards crawling around everywhere."

"We're going to go let the guys out." Ruby quickly explained, she unlocked the gate, "When you hear us start the fight, make a run for it, the entrance outside is unlocked."

"I'm not leaving without you." Octavia said with conviction.

"Then help us kill these ass holes." Ruby smiled.

Ruby and Bolin continued on, they finally reached the gate that led to the underground portion of the gladiator compound. Ruby unlocked the gate quietly and the pair snuck their way into the lower portions of the compound.

They remained in the darkness, away from the glow of the fire dust crystals that illuminated the cells. From a glance, Ruby knew for a fact that everyone had been ordered crammed in here, some of the guys slept while most others stayed awake, demanding to know what was going on outside. There four guards posted down here, but thankfully they sat in the corner playing some card game, taking comfort in the fact that they had the fighters under lock and key.

Ruby caught sight of a nearby familiar face. She kept her eyes trained on him until he got her attention.

Neptune's jaw dropped, but he made no sound as he saw Ruby put a lip to her finger. She motioned to everyone around him to look at her. Silently, the blue haired gladiator complied. One by one, each prospect and gladiator was confused by Neptune's initial gesture to stay quiet, Bolin rolled his eyes as he heard a few even squeak, but thankfully someone would quickly silence the idiot before he drew attention to what was about to happen.

Ruby scanned the cages as she looked for the one person that mattered.

And to no surprise did she see those stunning blue eyes already staring her down in her hide spot in the shadows.

Sun Wukong winked to Ruby as he got up close to the bars of the cage.

The room remained silent as everyone watched Ruby throw the key to the Monkey King who easily caught it with his tail through the bars. The fighters held their breath as they watched Sun reach around with the key to the lock on the door, the guard's attention still on the card game going on in the corner.

With a soft click the door was unlocked.

Ruby and Bolin nodded and stood tall, the two began to walk out of their hiding place in the shadow.

Still they remained unnoticed, until one guard looked up by chance.

But it was over quickly before too much noise erupted from the room, Bolin and Ruby made hasty work of two of the guards, their swords going straight for their necks to prevent any shouting. Sun and Sage erupted out of the cage in a blur, both tackling the remaining guards by the neck and with a hand over their mouth.

Ruby stood over the two guards that still breathe, but Bolin beat her to the punch as the man slit both of their throats in two easy swipes.

"Yes!" Neptune cried out.

"Shut up." Ruby quickly barked back before the rest of the crowd could start cheering. Like well-trained dogs, the men obeyed the Reaper.

"Four swords." Bolin held it up, "Sun." He tossed two to his friend; Sun easily caught both of them.

"Ruby?" Bolin asked, he's only seen her do it a few times before, but he knew that Ruby could dual wield.

"Give it to Neptune and Sage." Ruby instructed.

Bolin nodded and did as he was told.

Ruby took a good look around, gladiators and prospects included, they were at least 40 strong against the small army Roman had roaming the compound. She motioned for everyone to gather around.

"We're charging straight to the storage room where our swords and shields are, they have archers, but Roman's got them on the outside wall." Ruby's tone was steady, "As soon as you get a shield, I want as many people to get in a shield wall formation in front of storage room entrance."

"What happens after?" Scarlet asked.

"SOMEONE'S IN HERE! THREE DEAD GUARDS! THREE DEAD GUARDS!" The cry was echoing throughout the Villa upstairs.

"Check on the gladiators!" A faint call could be heard from the underground hallway that Bolin and Ruby had just traversed through, they had to move quickly.

"We fight."

With that, Ruby turned heel and made a break for the stairs, Bolin and Sun were hot on her heels and the three of them bursted out the door.

The guards posted were confused at first, which cost them dearly with their lives once the remainder of the Core Four made quick work of them. Ruby kicked opened the storage room, and to her glee their equipment was all there.

Bolin ducked easily under a swing, and then side stepped an ill-timed shield bash by his opponent. With both hands, he lifted his sword overhead and easily sliced through the man's neck. His opponent's body lay limp, but the grip on his shield remained since Bolin had to practically wrestle it from the dead man.

"Scarlet!" Bolin got the man's attention and threw his opponent's sword to the slave.

"Thanks!" Scarlet lunged forward at a charging guard.

"Shield Wall! Shield Wall!" Ruby cried out as she emerged from the storage room with a shield in hand.

Quickly, the other gladiators were falling in line next to her, shields raised and swords at the ready.

"The stairs! There are guards coming from underground!" Neptune called out; he planted a firm foot one guard's chest and proceeded to kick him down the stairs, taking out a few more that were behind him.

"Neptune, Sage! Take a few men and hold down the stairs, don't let them flank us!" Bolin yelled out.

"Archers!" Sun bellowed as ran for the shield wall, Ruby made a gap for the Faunus to run into, and not a moment too soon as a half dozen arrows came raining on their positions.

"Cover the top!" Ruby yelled out as she saw two arrows come soaring over the top and landing into one unlucky prospect, thankfully he didn't cause a gap in their wall.

In an instant, the topside was covered with more shields being held overhead by the taller fighters.

"Tighten up!" Ruby commanded, a stray arrow nearly made it between a gap.

"What do we do?" Someone called out, the rain of arrows echoed off of the shields.

"How's the stairs looking?" Ruby thought about sending a contingent down the way they came to try and flank those bastards.

"Crowded!" Neptune called out, his sword buried into the gut of yet another guard, "There's so fucking many of them!"

"Shit." Ruby seethed, she looked across the courtyard, maybe they could try to move the formation slowly towards the Villa, once they made it inside, the arrows wouldn't be an issue.

'But how many of us will actually make it?' Ruby thought hard, she looked to Bolin who held his shield up firmly as the onslaught of arrows continued.

A cry could be heard, followed by nearly a dozen more.

And then the hail of arrows stopped.

Cautiously, Ruby looked through a small gap and saw what was going on. Up high on the surrounding balconies and roof tops were the house slaves, armed with what ever they could find as they began to fight the archers.

"Sun, take as many men as you can and make a beeline for the roof tops. Help out Octavia and them, now." Ruby commanded.

"Got it." Sun tapped at least 5 men on their shoulders to come follow them, once people saw Sun making a move, at least another 5 more went to go follow in the group as well.

"Neptune! What's going on?" Ruby called out.

"They're clearing out back towards the Villa, the stairs are open!"

"You lot, onwards!" Ruby pointed out 8 men, "Neptune, Sage – take these guys and start clearing the underground tunnels… if they're not one of us, they die."

"Go!" Bolin roared.

"What about the rest of us?" Another slave questioned.

"Don't let anyone escape this place." Ruby's eyes flashed dangerously, her voice filled with conviction, "Kill them all and show no mercy, just as they have done for us."

The shield wall dispersed and soon the rest of the fighters began running into the Villa. The guards posted out on the perimeter were beginning to pour into the Villa to meet the commotion.

Inside was turning into a blood bath.

Guard after guard was slain, lying in their own blood. A few of the inexperienced slaves laid dead as well, which was only natural for the all out warfare going on.

The vibrant colors and décor that decorated the Torchwick Villa were splattered in various smatterings of red. A head here, an arm there, and slit throat here. The scene only made Ruby smile more as she watched the bodies pile on top of the floor.

"Rei!" Someone yelled out, a fellow gladiator became slump on the floor, a wound in his stomach bleeding out.

Ruby Rose stood tall as she came face to face the famous slaver of the House Torchwick, a combination of sweat and blood (that wasn't her own) ran down her face. Her hair was matted with Oum knew what and her tunic stained in glorious red.

Neo.

"Let's settle this, who has the better swordplay." Ruby held up her sword and shield as she prepared herself for the fight.

The slaver held her sword up and got into a stance, the same stance that she had taught countless times to many prospects.

It was barely a second before Neo charged forward towards Ruby.

Each strike was met with Ruby's shield, the Reaper began to take steps backwards, she wasn't expecting this girl to be so tenacious in any way. Silver eyes flashed at the next opening, she put her back into it and thrust her sword forward, shield raised just in time to catch the tip of Neo's sword.

The slaver quickly side stepped, the edge of the blade grazing her side slightly, she frowned at the sight and swung her weapon to the side, only to catch the air since Ruby dodged just in time.

It was Ruby's turn to return the assault of deadly combinations, and Neo was quickly seeing that the Gladiator had her outclassed. Without a shield, she was barely able to keep up parrying each strike and swing and she began to sport a few wounds of her own.

Before Neopolitan, Slaver of House Torchwick, could begin a counter-attack, she looked down at her chest – the point of a gladius protruded out from it.

"…Ngh…" Neo felt the hot steel leave her body, a boot placed on her back to help shuck her form off the blade.

Brown eyes that belonged to Bolin Hori stood over her body, "We're not here for a fair fight… " He flicked his gaze up to Ruby, a satisfied look on her face, "We're here for revenge."

Neo gripped her blade, but the strength in her arms were no longer there.

The last thing she saw before death claimed her was backs of Bolin the Redeemer and Ruby the Reaper fighting side-by-side in the fray.

Bolin lifted his shield arm and caught the tip of the blade while Ruby quickly ran up and stabbed the man in the throat, she spun around to slash at another guard, but he managed to dodge the blow - only for Bolin to rub his sword through his stomach. The senior Gladiator lifted his shield once more to block the blow of two swords, he kicked off the body that his sword was skewered through in order to lash out at the guards. Ruby was quick to his side, going straight for the exposed elbow of one guard - the harsh sound of steel clanging onto the stone floor was drowned out by the war cries and echoes of fighting through out the Villa. The man was screaming for his lost arm, so Bolin silenced him by shoving his sword down the throat of the amputated man - Ruby covered him by decapitating the hire sword that tried to attack Bolin.

Ruby caught sight of the different uniform – it was the uniform that belonged to Roman's personal guard, the one headed by Junior himself. She looked around quickly to see if she could catch sight of Junior or even Roman himself, but she had no such luxury since a raised blade was making it's way to her head.

Bolin easily blocked the strike, "He can't run, we'll flush him out even if it means butchering every body in here." He seethed; the tunic he wore was drenched in his sweat, his arms and face covered in blood that didn't belong to him.

Ruby wasn't better off herself, the cream tunic her sister bought her was stained in various shades of red, and she could feel how matted her hair was against her head.

But neither Gladiator felt the least bit tired as they fought through what was left of Roman's little army.

With an easy stroke, Ruby fell the last body.

She looked around and saw that only the slaves stood over the sea of bodies and red, "Clear out the rest of the first floor." Ruby looked about, they had fought in the main part of the Villa and Ruby had kept a special eye out for putrid orange hair and vile eyes.

A few cries for mercy echoed in the surrounding parlors, but nothing that even remotely reminded Ruby of Roman.

"Just a few stragglers trying to hide," One slave reported.

A thumping came from the stairs that led to the underground portion of the Villa, everyone in the room turned with swords raised towards the source of the noise.

"Woah there, it's just us." Sage called out.

"How's the tunnels?" Bolin questioned.

"Not a single living thing left… the Malachite twins were down there." Neptune called out.

"And?" Bolin narrowed his eyes.

"I killed them." The King of the Sea said with such conviction.

Ruby nodded, "Good."

"Upstairs." Bolin pointed and began leading the way towards the final part of the house.

"Is Sun still not – "

"Sun's fine, he might be in a bind though." Ruby cut him off as she pumped her legs to move up the stairs faster.

Just as she was about to turn the corner that led down the main hallway, an arrow halted her in tracks.

"Don't go out there!" A feminine voice called out from a guest room, Octavia sported a few wounds and next to her sat an equally wounded Sun Wukong, but it didn't look like any of it was slowing him down.

Bolin nodded as the two took cover around the corner.

"Crossbows." Sun called out, "Roman's holed up in his room, at least 15 of his best guards and Junior are in there with him.

"Where's everyone else?" Neptune asked tentatively.

"Dead." Sun sighed.

"You had 10 good –"

"Have you ever been shot at by a crossbow?" Ruby smacked the side of Neptune's arm, "Nothing like a regular arrow, can even penetrate these shoddy shields of ours."

"We need better weapons," Sun pointed to himself, "If I had some thing better earlier I could have easily bested a few more of the bastards."

"Weapons…" Ruby muttered.

Roman's personal armory was underground.

"Follow me." Ruby motioned, together with Bolin the two parted the crowd, the old scout took the time to do a quick head count of who was left.

They also had 15 of their best left.

Quickly, the two stepped over bodies of several guards and slaves that littered the floors.

"In here." Bolin motioned to the familiar dressing room, there mounted on the walls was the armor the belonged to the decorated Core Four.

Ruby moved hastily to the back of the room, where she knew the false wall was that led to the Torchwick personal armory. Inside she was not disappointed as several swords, bows and shields lined the walls.

She picked out a sturdy sword and shield, Bolin did the same and spotted a pair of blades that would be perfect for Sun.

"Re-arm yourself," Ruby looked at the armory, "It's a shame there's no better armor in here."

"Ruby…" Neptune pointed to the wall, "There still is."

Bolin and Ruby stared for a moment at the armor.

Bolin's ornate golden dragon gleamed against the hardy chest plate.

Ruby's dark wolf head glowed something otherworldly in the low light.

And then the mounted lion pelt and chest piece Nadir wore, next to the ornate arm guard Sun was famous for sporting on his right arm.

"Hurry up, I don't know how long those bastards upstairs will keep the stalemate." Quickly the two dressed in the familiar chest piece and armed their vambraces. Sage and Neptune helped the two with their buckles and pulled them all taut to speed up the process.

Before the group left, Ruby grabbed Sun's arm guard and Nadir's chest piece – they'll put it to good use.

Swords clashing could be heard as soon as they made it to the base of the stairs.

"No!" Neptune yelled out, he charged the stairs with Sage and Scarlet at his heels – Ruby and Bolin wore grim faces as they ran up the stairs.

In the door way of the room that Sun and Octavia had taken shelter in were two guards with their shields raised, in the gap Neptune saw Sun desperately fighting back to prevent the guards from storming the room.

'Can they hit a moving target?' Was the last coherent thought in Neptune's head as kept his speed up and raised his sword, in a blur he crossed the hallway and with it two bolts embedded themselves into the wall – they missed him.

With his shield raised, Neptune easily knocked the two guards to the ground, not missing a beat by stabbing his sword into the back of one of them.

The second guard caught sight of the group heading up the stairs.

"They're back!" He called out, swiftly he took back down the hall towards where the rest of the guards were holed up.

Scarlet was about to follow the guard down the hallway to the main bedroom, but the hairs on his neck raised and the man stopped just in time before another bolt was let loose.

"Six." Scarlet's heart was pounding, his face was an inch away from catching the bolt, "They've got six bolters in two lines."

"So a volley of 3 at a time." Ruby calculated, she looked down at the shields they carried, a much sturdier metal than the ones from before, "Shield wall, don't you dare drop your shield for anything."

"Will these hold?" Sage looked down at the equipment.

"Try not to get too close behind your shield, but these should hold a lot better than the junk from earlier." Ruby speculated, she looked over to the room that Sun and Neptune had taken arms in.

Sun's eyes grew wide at the sight of the armor Ruby held, with a strong throw, both his arm guard and Nadir's chest piece made it across the hallway.

"Thank you." Sun muttered as he quickly went about strapping the armor on.

"When I say go, we start building the wall across, two shields high. Start low and go high, keep your head down." Ruby instructed. A couple grunts of affirmation was heard, "Stay tight,"

"Go!" Ruby bellowed, she started the first part of the formation, a bolt caught the tip of her shield, but it didn't penetrate through all the way. Within seconds the shield wall was built, but Ruby felt something warm drip on her. She looked up to see Bolin standing over her, a bolt had also caught his shield, but the razor edge caught his arm slightly.

"I'm fine." Bolin smiled down.

They only needed 10 bodies to complete the wall, the remaining slaves stayed behind the line, swords at the ready. Neptune and Sun joined up behind the line as well.

"Push!" Ruby yelled, together they stepped forward, another onslaught of bolts caught their wall.

"Push!"

Step

"Push!"

Step

"Push!" The sound of bolts letting loose, another grunt was heard, but no one in the shield wall faltered.

"Push!"

"They're not stopping!" A guard called out.

"Keep shooting! Ready your swords!"

Together, they cleared the distance, the doorway to Torchwick's personal bedroom within feet of them and the line of bolters and a few guards were almost within striking distance.

"Sun, you ready?" Ruby didn't dare look back; she wasn't going to take her eyes off the enemy.

"Born ready."

"On the next push, the top line duck down and let Sun and everyone jump over to attack."

It was executed beautifully.

Sun took a strong leap forward with Neptune next to him, they caught the bolters mid-reload and the swordsmen couldn't react fast enough to the sudden action. Without having to be told, the line of shields broke and joined the slaughter.

Seconds – within seconds the hoard had claimed the lives of these men.

"Door's locked." Sun smirked.

Ruby looked over the wooden door, "We knock then." Bolin smiled at the suggestion she made.

Three Gladiators faced the door with their shields raised, in unison they ran at the wooden door and it easily buckled into a splintered mess.

It was like the gates of hell had broken open.

Each Gladiator and Guard took up arms against each other.

"Red."

Ruby's eyes snapped forward.

There stood Roman Torchwick, eyes blazing and sword in hand.

Without a second thought, Ruby charged the man.

"Ruby!" Bolin called out, once more he blocked a blow meant for Ruby.

"Think you can fight a real man, boy?" Junior towered overhead, it was no secret that Junior knew his was around the sword – hadn't been hired as Roman's personal guard for nothing.

From behind, Sun struck out at Junior, but the bodyguard reacted just in time before one of the sword strikes hit his neck. "Stop over compensating for your small penis." Sun quipped.

"What?!" Junior roared, he lashed out against Sun, Ruby saw an opportunity and brought her blade down on his shoulder. The bodyguard swung his shield around in time to block the strike, not failing to slash at Sun's front – the Faunus raised his arm guard in time and the sword strike was easily deflected.

"Octavia told me, that's why she was never scared of you trying to bed her." Sun smirked at the man, "She couldn't tell the difference when you would try to _stab her_ with your _sword."_ He repeated the threat that Junior had made to Octavia several times.

"That… You damned animal!" Junior raged as he began to slash about wildly.

Ruby's instincts screamed, quickly she took a few steps backwards to avoid the slash aimed for her neck. She looked up to meet the green eyes of her old master. She did an easy stroke of her sword.

The attack landed easily, a cut was decorated across Roman's chest.

"All that talk…" The Reaper muttered.

The sounds of shouting and metal clashing were replaced with dying moans and labored breathing. The remaining Gladiators stood over triumphantly of the dead bodies that once made up Roman's personal guard.

"Aggghh!" The yell was high pitched, Sun had the tip of his blade buried into Junior's manhood.

"I've always wanted to try that for myself ever since you did it." Sun remarked, he took a look around, not too many of their own were left standing.

But all that was left was Roman Torchwick.

"You… my family's Villa… my guards… where's Neo?" Roman looked about as the slaves closed in one him.

"You'll see her soon." Ruby approached the man, "Pick up your sword."

"No."

Bolin backhanded the man with the hilt of his sword, Roman fell to the ground and felt something kicked his way. "Pick it up."

"Do you think you can tell me? Your fucking Master what to –" Roman's voice echoed, and so did Sun's kick to his stomach, the slave master hack violently, a feeling of dread began to be felt at the pit of his stomach.

"Pick. Up. Your. Sword." Ruby emphasized once more, she tossed her shield to the side and held her weapon up in her left hand.

"Fine." The slave master complied begrudgingly.

A circle formed with the remaining few gladiators, Roman Torchwick saw that there was nowhere left to run. With what little he could remember from his youth, Roman took up a rough stance.

"Ruby." Sun mustered up in his best announcer voice, she nodded in affirmation.

The Faunus turns his attention to the slave master, " _Roman."_ His master's first name rolled off his tongue, green eyes flashed in practiced reaction.

"You will show me res-"

"Begin!" Sun roared.

But there was no crowd there to cheer, and none of the gladiators in the room were in a festive mood.

Ruby stayed tense for a few moments, but relaxed her guard once she stared down the man.

"Don't you dare under estimate me!" Roman screeched, he raised his weapons and charged blindly at the fighter. Effortlessly, Ruby side step the charge.

She punished Roman's recklessness with a deep wound to his back.

Roman's back stung and he could barely stand up on his hands and knees, "Get up." Bolin commanded, he harshly grabbed Roman's arm and dragged him to his feet. The slaver master cried out in agony as his wound was agitated, but remained standing and re-gripped his weapon.

His opponent gave lazy and slow strikes, but Roman desperately blocked them with his own sword. The wound on his back burned with each movement, but he didn't dare drop his sword in fear of another.

Roman didn't register Sun's sword getting buried into his thigh, his brain started to process the new wound once he watched the Faunus remove the blade from his leg.

"Fuck!" The slave master was on the floor.

Ruby looked up at her friend, "Sorry, my hand slipped."

She shrugged, "Not like it was a real fight to begin with." She stepped over the man, "I hate you."

"You bitch!" Roman roared, Ruby responded by kicking him in the stomach.

"I fucking hate you." Her voice cracked as she stood over the man, "You've taken away so much from us… all of us."

"You're all fucking slaves, mere objects who only do as your master says." He gritted through his teeth.

"Pick him up." Ruby instructed, "Bring him to the courtyard." Bolin and Sun complied, the small crowd followed in tow as they traversed back down the stairs of the Villa. Roman's eyes went wide as he saw the blood and damage that his family Villa had sustained. The mutilated bodies of guards and slave alike, they had to kick aside a few of them just to make it through the home.

But the most shocking sight of all was to see her, Neo, face down in a sea of blood. "You fucking animals." The slave master seethed.

"String him on the wall, like he's done to us, but make sure he's facing me." Bolin and Sun complied as they grabbed the chains, they tied it to the man and made sure they were taught.

With his arms spread wide, Roman limply looked up from being strung up on the wall.

"Whip." Ruby held her hand out; another gladiator complied and picked up the whip that would be used on the disobedient slaves.

Without warning, she snapped the whip across Roman's front. A large red gash was seen starting from his cheek and going all the way down to his injured thigh.

Roman Torchwick cried out into the night sky that glowed with the embers of battles that littered the kingdom.

And the small Gladiator repeated the action countless times, each stroke of the whip stronger than the last. Roman's voice swelled as each new lash opened up new wounds, and eventually more wounds over his wounds.

Eyes looked down at the ground, his blood decorated the ground beneath him.

"Please… just kill me." It hurt to talk, it hurt to breath, it hurt to move.

Ruby Rose looked on, she smiled at her handiwork, Roman Torchwick's face was barely recognizable as she stepped closer, sword drawn. The thing with the whip is that each lash wasn't deep enough to be anything lethal, just enough to leave these long snake like open wounds that decorated the entirety of Roman's front side.

"Death… by the Reaper, would be a mercy for you." Ruby's voice was low, she looked over at a slave. "Kerosene."

"N-No… p-please." Roman sputtered. "K-kill me."

The slave returned, a torch in one hand and the cask of kerosene in the other.

The chains we slack enough to let the slave master sink to his knees, but Sun and Bolin didn't allow such luxury, they pulled tight the chains to force him back on his feet.

Roman tried to scream, but it was caught in his throat.

Slowly, Ruby poured the kerosene over his head, it stung his wounds that decorated his whole body. The dreaded slave master twitched violently as the kerosene seeped into his wounds.

"Please…" Roman begged once more.

"Live on Roman Torchwick." Ruby Rose held out the torch in front of him, "I give you the judgment of life."

She dropped the flame at his feet, and in an instant the infernos engulfed his body.

"Please! K-Kill me!" Roman Torchwick shrieked as he smelled the his _own_ charred flesh, he could feel his ears begin to melt away on to his skull, the scent of burning hair filled the air. The skin where the cuffs chained him to the wall peeled and stung and just felt so _unbelievably_ hot.

He wanted it to stop, the slow torture, he felt his insides _boil_ over, he wanted to throw up, but he just couldn't. Instead he screamed, he whined, he begged, he wailed, he _asked for it to end._

The smell of a monster scorching in hell permeated through out the courtyard.

Bolin and Sun let go of the chains, the howling mess fell to his knees.

Together, the Gladiators of the famed House Torchwick, watched their master burn.

* * *

A/N:

Is there a record for consecutive updates? I feel like I'm getting ready to break it.

March 2, 2017 - I posted the very first chapter of Gladiator where you guys got to meet the slave master Torchwick.

March 2, 2018 - Finally got to kill off the bastard.

So it finally happened - _Roman Torchwick_ is dead. Neo is dead. Junior is dead. It was a glorious blood bath in the Torchwick Villa. Hopefully this chapter have brought some sense of justice or satisfaction to those of you that have been wishing for Torchwick's demise since the beginning. For me, it feels kind of weird to finally kill off the ass hole just because I've gotten so used to trying to make this man as wretched as possible and using him to create so much hardship for Ruby. But in the end, I'm glad I finally got to do it.

Thank you guys for the kind words, reviews, and messages - I enjoy reading all of them because it makes all the endless hours I've spent poured into writing these chapters that much more worth it. I truly love bringing you all a story that you enjoy reading, even more so when you guys give me feedback on it all because it helps me when writing future stories.

I truly hope you guys enjoyed this chapter of Gladiator.

See you all soon.

Cheers,

DevilRed


	20. Take Me There

Weiss and Blake helped push off a fishing trolley from the pier that boxed their vessel into port.

"That's the last one!" Nora called out as she ensured the boat wouldn't be a hindrance.

"We've got Reese, Mei, and Hitomi below deck." Klein called out from aboard the vessel, "Hitomi is asking if we've seen her son Bolin come back yet."

"Not yet." Pyrrha shook her head, "Were you able to locate the rest of the crew?" She called over to Jaune.

"Yeah, thankfully they were sleeping on the ship." Jaune waved over to the crew that had sailed with him, "We've picked up a few stragglers and invited them on board."

"Is there enough room?" Pyrrha asked.

"I was expecting to take home nearly 30 POWs…" Jaune looked on, "With the Kingdom like this, I'll save who I can."

"I thank you for doing that," Oobleck placed a hand on the Commander's shoulder, "Despite all that's going on, you still look out for everyone."

"That's something I would want someone to do for my people in distress." Jaune sighed heavily.

"We need to shove off soon." Ren came jogging down the pier, "The fighting is spilling from the main entrance of port, I judge we have an hour before the fighting spills over here." While they took care of prepping the vessel, Ren took it upon his self to scope out the surrounding area.

"Does she know where the South Side is?" Weiss was annoyed, but Yang knew that she was more worried than anything else.

"Ruby's got a good memory, we passed through here a few times when she came into town to visit Bolin." Nora was sure.

"Do we wait?" Jaune ask.

Oobleck nodded his head, "We wait as long as we can."

* * *

Ruby counted: Scarlet, Sage, Neptune, Sun, Bolin, Octavia, and herself, there was 7 of them as they rode furiously into town.

She offered to take who ever was left with her to Vale to escape the city, but a handful of men wanted to stay behind in Mistral to help locate their families and loved ones.

Together they rode past the sporadic pockets of fighting, stopping for no one as they rode hard towards the massive port.

"Let me lead." Bolin called out, "I know a better way to South Side, it should keep us off the main roads."

Ruby nodded and slowed down enough to let Bolin take the lead.

"Ruby!" Scarlet called out, he pointed out in the distance, "That doesn't look good!" Lines of uniformed troops were marching across the way.

Ruby squinted, she could make out the form of Commander Haizel Rainart – she remembered this man, he was present at the match that nearly maimed her.

"This isn't good news," Ruby looked at her friends, most of them still had their collars on, there wasn't enough time to go looking for where Torchwick kept the collar's keys – Bolin pointed out that they had been away longer than anticipated.

"Over there!" A uniformed soldier called out, "Slaves!"

"Faster!" Ruby roared and the group rode on to avoid the confrontation.

* * *

A large explosion shook the ground of the Kingdom.

"What was that?" Adam Taurus stood tall, his forces were in charge of sealing off the port, but it was proving difficult with city guard organized for a fight.

"Not sure…" Mercury lied, he knew it was Watts blowing up their underground headquarters.

"Sir! There's a sighting of the Schnee down at the South Side of the port."

"What!" Adam roared, "Did Blake fail?" He trailed off at the thought.

Mercury bit the inside of his cheek, that meant that Ruby was still alive if Weiss is there, "They might trying to be escaping by way of Arc's vessel." He thought out.

"No, they're not." Adam grunt, he kept a tight hold on his weapon – something unique to the Faunus culture. Mercury stared at the weapon, it was lethal and elegant – he remembers Adam calling it a katana.

"Where are you going?" Mercury followed the man as he broke out into a run.

"If you want something done right, you got to do it yourself."

* * *

"We're here." Bolin mentioned as the port came to view, "Everyone be on the look out for Pyrrha Nikos or Weiss Schnee, that's the boat we want." He called out to the group.

They wandered down the pier for a good 10 minutes before Sage called something out.

"There!" He pointed out, a little more down the ways was the distinct red hair that belong to Pyrrha Nikos.

"Come on!" Bolin rode down the way, "Hey!" He called out as he sat up more on his horse.

"Bo!" Pyrrha waved out happily, "They're here!"

"Raise anchor! Get us loose!" Klein called out to the ship's crew. Immediately the crew went buzzing about the pier as they began untying ropes and prepping the ship to shove off.

"Thank Oum." Yang smiled as she watched from the deck her sister get closer to the ship.

The distinct ring of an arrow flying threw the air cut them short.

"Agh!" Bolin was unhorsed as the barb lodged itself in between the gap of his armor on his shoulder. 'Lucky fucking shot.' Bolin thought bitterly once his form hit the ground hard.

"Bo!" Sun yelled out, the group slowed down.

"Neptune, take everyone to the boat and get on board, we're leaving as soon as we get Bo on." Ruby turned her steed around, to help out Sun; she jumped off her steed to assess the damage.

"Right." Neptune nodded, he led the group the rest of the way, he kept his body low to his horse as two more arrows came flying overhead.

"Don't!" Bolin groaned in protest as he felt the tip cause more pain inside, "It's a barbed tipped." Sun released his grip on the arrow.

"Break it off, Octavia can look at on the ship." Ruby instructed, "Can you move your arm?"

Bolin shook his head, "This hurts more than that little bolt earlier."

"Come on!" Ren called down as he threw the rope ladder over, Octavia was the first to hoist herself up followed by the three Gladiators.

Blake's eyes caught sight of the culprit archer, with a raised dagger and deadly proficiency; she launched the weapon and smiled when she saw it hit its mark. The archer fell to the floor with the knife embedded in his shoulder.

"Nice shot." Yang congratulated, she looked on as Ruby and Sun coming up with Bo riding on the back of Sun's horse. Ruby rode in front of the two, with a shield raised as her eyes scanned the horizon for another archer in wait.

"My arm…" Bolin grunted, he couldn't lift himself up on the rope ladder on his own.

"Can you pull him up?" Sun yelled to the group on the deck.

"Yeah! We got him!" Scarlet called down.

"Alright Bo, Octavia's on board and she'll fix you up man." Sun reached over the pier to grab a hold of the rope ladder, "Just hang on tight with your good arm, they'll take care of the rest."

"Got it." Bolin nodded, with his strong arm, he took hold tightly.

Sun watched as they slowly pulled him up, it was going to take a good minute before they got him on deck.

He turned around to block a sword aimed for his torso.

They might not have a minute.

"You ass!" Ruby called out as she shoved Mercury off of her friend, "What are you doing? It's us!" She shook the silver haired champion, "Nadir surely talked about us."

"He sure did." Mercury smirked.

"Then why are you fighting us?" Ruby seethed.

"Torchwick Gladiators." Adam stopped once he caught sight of the fighters, "You escaped? Will you help our cause? Surely you want revenge for what these blasted nobles have done to us."

"Uh…" Ruby's eyes darted to the vessel, "Listen, we're just –"

"Ruby! What's taking so long?" Weiss called out from the deck, her eyes went wide at the sight of the two newcomers.

"Sorry, Red." Mercury held up his blade, "You're only getting in our way."

"Shove off!" Sun called out to the crew still on the dock, he didn't miss the air turning tense.

"You're with the Schnee!" Adam roared and he attacked Ruby tenaciously with his katana.

Ruby was taken back with surprise, she didn't really know how to gauge the weapon her opponent wielded. She held up the sword with both her hands, she could tell that the Faunus was going to be tough.

"Blake was supposed to kill her!" Adam roared out, "She's supposed to be dead!" He swung his katana so swiftly, but Ruby was still able catch him.

"You were the one that ordered her death?" Ruby's eyes went wide at the information, with renewed vigor, she pushed back against the Faunus.

The two exchanged blows, Ruby nearly had her arm sliced off and quickly assessed that she shouldn't let him have _too much_ space because his weapon had so much damn reach. She had to remain aggressive and always pushing back into, but it was difficult to do so with the way her opponent wielded the weapon with such mastery.

Blake looked over the edge of the rail at the fight that was taking place, she gripped the side of the vessel and was prepared to launch herself overboard.

"Stay." Pyrrha commanded, "It'll be impossible to leave if we all go down and try to help out," She squinted at the line of slaves starting to swarm through the pier in the distance, "We have to leave, we don't stand a chance against that hoard."

Sun was busy helping the crew that was still on the dock get their asses on the boat, all the while juggling Mercury who was trying to take strikes at the unarmed crew.

"That's cheap!" Sun quipped, he followed up the Champion with a harsh combination, each blow was aiming for something lethal. Mercury was no slouch with his swordplay.

"Can't exactly say that it'd be easy to fight on level ground with you." Mercury answered with a combination of his own.

Only for Sun to kick him squarely in the chest and knocking the man down on his back. Mercury quickly recovered and got to a knee to block the dual swords that were aimed for his head. He looked over at Adam, he was fighting evenly against Ruby, but the red Gladiator looked absolutely gassed.

But there was still the fact that Adam was fighting _evenly_ with _the Reaper_. Which only meant that if Mercury were to try to fight Adam evenly…

'They're just trying to leave…' Mercury thought as he formulated a new plan.

None of the other slave fighters were around because Adam ordered them to stay at the main road and try to stomp out the City Guard. The two of them were able to slip pass the main line and make way to here.

He shoved his shield into Sun, knocking the Faunus straight on his back.

The Fall Champion acted quickly and crossed over to where Adam and Ruby were fighting. The Bull Faunus smiled when he saw his approaching partner, with the two of them together they can easily finish this Torchwick Gladiator.

Mercury Black raised his blade high over head and then buried his sword into the back of Adam Taurus.

Blake gasped as she watched the silver haired gladiator impale the Bull Faunus.

"W-What." Adam fell to the ground; he looked up at who he thought was his right hand man, "Y-You…"

Ruby Rose froze and was absolutely shocked and confused at the scene, her eyes wide once she finally processed what's going on – Mercury Black is with House Fall.

"I can't have you around for my Mistress' epic finale, my friend." Mercury smiled down at the man.

"T-Traitor…" Adam stuttered out, his body lay limp on the ground, with the last of his strength he watched his fellow rebelling slaves starting to pour into the port – cries of victory rang through. "So… close… "

"We broke through the city guard! The port's ours!" Several footsteps were heard approaching the remaining three.

"They killed Adam!" Mercury roared, the slaves paused slightly at the sight of their slain leader, "Avenge our brother! Kill them all!" He quickly rallied the slaves.

"Oum, damn you!" Sun grit through his teeth.

"No! Don't listen to him!" Ruby tried to warn, but the defiant anger was present in the each of the rebelling slave's eyes.

"Don't let the boat leave!" Mercury instructed.

"Death to the nobles!" Some of the slaves yelled as they ran up alongside the boat, two managed to grab a hold of some of the ropes that dangled off the side and began to climb on board.

"No you don't!" Jaune kicked off the two who managed to weasel their way up the side.

Ruby quickly rushed to the few crewmembers that haven't quite made it on board just yet. She lashed out and managed to kill two of the rebels, but with their numbers pouring in, it was growing difficult to keep up with growing crowd. Sun immediately rushed to her side, the usual theatrics that most associated with his fighting style was long gone – the Gladiator was going straight for lethal kills.

The pier they were on was starting to become littered with bodies, but the pair was slowly being pushed back.

"Move the ladder!" Scarlet called out as he made a grab for the rope ladder, with Ruby and Sun's line slowly moving back the rebelling slaves were about to have access to the rope ladder to climb on board. The last crewmember was climbing up and was mid-way to the deck, but at the bottom a rebel slave had managed to take hold.

"I got him!" Sage cried out as he reached out and grabbed the crewmember's hand, easily the fighter pulled the grown man on to the deck. He looked down and saw that more slaves were climbing up the rope ladder.

Pyrrha looked over the side, "Cut it!"

"But Ruby and Sun!" Bolin roared, but a firm hand planted itself on his chest, Octavia glared daggers at him with a knife in hand.

"Do not move when I'm trying to cut this barbed arrow head out!" She seethed, "Have faith, they'll get them on here."

Bolin grunted and begrudgingly lay back down to let Octavia work.

Klein looked around, "Throw down that rope on the far end, we'll pull them up with that when we shove off."

Neptune nodded and ran off to the rope.

Ruby watched the rope ladder get hacked off and the line of bodies came crashing back down on the pier. Her eyes flicked to the edge and she saw the blue hair that belonged to Neptune.

He threw down a rope behind their positions.

"There's too many!" Sun grunted, a stray sword nicked his arm, "Really wish I had a shield right now…" He stabbed at an opponent.

"I wish I had an extra sword to cut them down." Ruby said in mock humor, she leaned sideways and then lashed out at a torso.

"We're good to go Commander!" One of the crewmembers called out.

"Ruby! We're going, now!" The ship began to pull out; quickly it was picking up speed in an attempt to get as far away from the fighting as possible.

She made quick work of an opponent and then threw her gladius with practice aim at another opponent, the sword embedded in his chest "Alright!" Ruby yelled out, she made a grab for the rope and hastily shimmied up to make room for Sun.

"They're persistent." Sun muttered, he buried his sword into a slave; he didn't bother to retrieve it and simply made a dash for the rope – a trio of rebels hot on his tail.

They were almost in the clear, Sun was coming up to the end of the dock and wouldn't have enough space to keep pace with the moving vessel, but Ruby held out her hand in time.

With a great leap, he caught hold of her hand and then the rope.

"They're getting away." One slave simply stated while he watched the ship make it's way out to sea.

"I'll give them a parting gift," Mercury watched with hawk-like eyes as he retrieved a dagger from his waistband. With a strong throw, the dagger sailed through the air.

"Ruby, move!" Sun caught the attack at the last moment, he practically smothered the smaller fighter from the dagger. "Urgh." Lodged in his unprotected left arm was the dagger, his grip loosened.

"Sun!" Ruby made a grab for his hand, "Come on, we'll have Octavia take a look at it."

"You got him, but it looks like it's not enough." The slave mentioned, he squinted and saw how the two were then hoisted on board.

"Oh, it's enough." Mercury grinned, "It was enough for Nadir."

* * *

Klein Sieben looked on at the horizon, the fires that burned the Kingdom Mistral was way off behind them.

They managed to get away, which proved to be no small task. He watched Octavia who was quick to Sun's side, quickly removing the knife and starting to do her first aid on the wound.

But from the way Octavia looked, it didn't look great.

"What's going on?" Ruby kneeled over Sun.

The Faunus was coughing violently and the wound in his arm hadn't stopped bleeding.

"I think I know who poisoned Nadir." Sun joked.

"Shut up man, Octavia will help fix you up." Bolin was out of his armor and knelt over – the wound in his shoulder forgotten. "Can… you do anything?"

Octavia looked over Sun, he was drenched in sweat and he was starting to cough up blood. "…" She looked up at Bolin and shook her head.

"Dammit." Bolin seethed, he looked over his friend – no, his brother. "Is there nothing below deck? Anything at all?"

Jaune looked on and nodded, quickly he scrambled below deck for any kind of antidote – none of the crewmembers had the heart to tell anyone that they didn't keep any medicine on board.

But Ruby stayed silent, she could see what was going on, this wasn't some low-grade poison – this was some high quality stuff with how fast acting it was. "He was aiming for me." She mumbled.

"What kind of friend would I be if I didn't at least try to protect you?" Sun smiled, he wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, "You deserve to live Ruby."

"You do too!" She cried out, the tears were flowing freely, "Sun, you… you just can't."

The countless nights he had stayed by her side, comforting the best way he could. Helping her out around the compound when she was injured. Offering smart remarks and comic relief when he can. Running his mouth off to Bolin when the elder Gladiator would chastise him. Challenging Nadir to a grappling match, only to be tossed like a sack of wheat ten seconds later.

"Hey Bo," Sun looked over at the green haired woman at his side, "Is that Reese?"

Bolin nodded, "Yeah, we're dating now." A slight smile.

"I'm Sun," A cough, "I've heard a lot about you." He limply held out his hand.

Reese Chloris ignored the grime and blood that covered Sun's hand and took it with both of hers, "Bo has told me a lot about you too." She moved her hand to brush back some of Sun's hair that was matted against his forehead, "I'm happy to have finally met you."

"Good things, I know." Sun grinned, "Take care of him, he's done a bang up job taking care of me all these years." Sun's deep blue eyes wavered slightly as he looked into Bolin's.

"Its cause you're such a knuckle head from time to time that I gotta rough you up." Bolin smiled, he felt his chest welling up and placed a hand on Sun's shoulder.

"Hey Rubes," Sun looked up at the small fighter, "I was so happy to see you."

"I was too." Ruby placed a hand on his chest, "I never thought I was going to see you again."

"I did." A small chuckle, but it quickly developed into a jarring cough, "I…" A wheeze, "I knew deep down… That I'd see you again." Yet another hacking cough that racked his entire body.

More blood began to decorate the chin of Sun Wukong.

"Sun… I… Please, I love you – don't leave me, don't leave us." She pleaded softly.

He smiled that same annoying smirk that made you want to throw something at his face, "I figured Nadir could use some company." With a shaky hand, he placed it in Ruby's lap, "Anything you want me to tell him?" Sweat drenched his face and the usual tan color seem to drain from his cheeks.

"That I love him too, and thank you, for everything." She placed a hand on his arm, gripping it gently.

"Tell him to stop throwing away his shield in a fight." Bolin chimed in, "And that we'll be brothers – and sister," Bolin looked over at Ruby who laughed lightly at the added comment, "We'll be siblings forever, no matter what."

"Core Four." Sun smiled, "Best Gladiators to… ever grace… the Arena's sands." His breathing became erratic.

"Damn right." Bolin's voice cracked.

"Rubes…" He was taking shallow pants, "Patch… you said… is peaceful." Shaking.

"And beautiful." Ruby added, "From what I remember in my dreams, at least." Down her face covered in dirt and blood, a tear streaked down.

"Take me… there… promise?" He tried to move his hand, but there was no strength left, his sky blue eyes became hazy like a winter storm – dark, foreboding, and haunting.

So Ruby took his hand instead, tightly she clenched to that hand that was bigger than hers. Bolin reached over and placed both his hands over Ruby and Sun's.

Together all three clutched to each other.

Hazy eyes looked up into earthy brown and striking silver.

Sun Wukong closed his eyes and let the comforting lull of sleep's eternal embrace tug at him.

"Promise."

And then he slept.

* * *

A/N:

I know, it was rough.

There are moments when I read good stories that I'll start crying. But I had never experienced crying while writing out a scene until I wrote Sun's death. I truly grew attached to this character.

I always knew I was going to kill off Sun since I first thought of writing Gladiator, because if Ruby was going to be Spartacus then I wanted her to have a Varro, a Gannicus, and a Crixus (very loose interpretations of them, as you can tell by now... bonus points if you can guess who was Gannicus and who was Crixus).

Despite knowing what I wanted to happen in the end game, I was still caught off guard when I finally made it to this point of the story. I hope none of you guys are going to secretly plot my murder now for doing this.

Sun, thank you for all the things that you've done and for being there when your friends needed you most. Now go get some rest - you've earned it.

DevilRed


	21. Don't Stop, Time Waits For No One

_**Thus kindly I scatter.**_

"Qrow said that Mom loved this place, that's why they buried her here." Yang placed a hand on her sister's shoulder. Both of them took a moment to spend time at Summer Rose's head stone. "I've only ever been back here once, and that was because Qrow wanted to show me where Mom rested."

"The view is breath taking."

The spring sunset made the rolling hills glow gold, the branches rustled gently in the breeze, and the smell of budding flowers permeated the air. Ruby had only been to Patch a handful of times, but she never left town and consequently never had a real chance to explore her home.

"Thank you, for letting us bury Sun here."

Yang looked over at the newer headstone over in the shade of the trees, "I don't think Mom would mind the company, especially if he's one of your best friends."

"Brother." Ruby looked up at her with smile, "I think you would have liked him."

"I already do, considering how much he's done for our sister." Yang returned the smile.

Eyes that sparkled like amethyst looked over at their third companion that sat in front of Sun's grave, the dirt was still fresh.

They buried Sun Wukong that morning.

Yang and Weiss pitched in for the funeral – neither spared any expense.

"I'm going back to the Inn in town soon, you sure you don't wanna stay on Patch a few more days?" Yang motioned to her friend, "I just need to go back to Vale and check in with Qrow."

Ruby shook her head, "I want to meet Qrow properly," A distant look on her face, "I just… I can't stay here another day, not right now." She left it at that.

"If you say, for now, I think Bo could use your company." Yang motioned to the man who had remained silent the rest of the day. With that, the Huntress walked away, shooting a final glance over her shoulder at Bolin and Ruby.

"Bo…" Ruby walked over to him.

The man shut his eyes and took a deep breath in, "He would have loved all these trees."

"Yeah, he always hogged the shade under that only tree in the courtyard all the time." Ruby sat down next to him.

"We were close… so close…" Bolin let out his breath, his eyes open but they tearing up once more, "No clean win, right?"

"I think it was a clean win." Ruby said, Bolin looked at her slightly confused, "Sun was smiling in the end."

"…You're right." Brown eyes stared intently at the tombstone.

 **Sun Wukong – Brother. Friend. Gladiator. Free.**

"It's just us now, Bo." Ruby looked up at the sky, "But even though they're both not here with us, I can't shake the feeling that they're not gone – not completely." She kept her eyes trained upwards.

Bolin looked up at his friend, his eyes still red, "You really think so?"

Ruby nodded, "Yeah… I do." A sad smile, "I… I really do." A stray tear ran down her cheek.

The man stood and wiped the tear from her cheek, "I believe you." He smiled tenderly at the small fighter, "Ruby… I just don't know what to do from here…. When Nadir passed, I just – I don't know what to do – it was just so hard, so much harder than it would have been if we were all… all still _there._ I just don't know if... if I can keeping going."

Bolin Hori looked on mournfully, no one has ever seen this side of him.

"I know what you mean." Ruby's voice was low, her eyes looked down at the grave, "But Bo… we can't… stop." She took a deep breath, "We have to keep going."

"Why do we need to keep going?" Bolin looked down at the grave too, "I… I d-don't know why we need to keep pushing." His voice cracked, "Sun's dead… Nadir's dead..."

"Because, we're still _alive._ " Ruby swallowed hard, a giant lump forming in her throat once more, "Because we're _free._ Because we have people who love us – who need us – Neptune needs, Octavia needs us, Reese and Weiss needs us…. Because my sister needs me… here…" Tears began to flow down her face, "Because… we wouldn't be here without everything Sun did… What Nadir did… they did it for us." She wasn't sure when her words started to become incoherent.

Ruby Rose fell to the ground, she clutched at the dirt in front of the head stone, "Because they loved us – Oum knows they loved us and we… we can't… we can't let them down, not after w-what they did f-for us… we just can't… we can't stop."

The sobbing became uncontrollable.

Bolin grabbed Ruby into his arms, he clutched on to her with all that he had and she clutched back at him.

On that hilltop and in that grove of trees, the two that sat clutching at each other weren't slaves.

They were neither gladiators.

They were neither warriors.

They were just two people past their limits – past their breaking point.

They were broken and weak.

So the two wept with their walls torn down. They freed all those feelings that they have fought for so long to be pushed aside, those feelings that they have learned to bury in the course of their time as Gladiators. The let go of the world that they carried on their shoulders.

For once, they didn't have to be strong.

At least for as long as this moment would allow.

* * *

"They're not back yet?" Octavia looked up at the blond.

Yang shook her head, "They need a little more time," She looked off into the corner, Neptune, Sage, and Scarlet sat around the table with a drink in hand, but the mood wasn't exactly merry.

If Yang could pick a word to describe the scene, then it would be _lost._

She watched Sage reach up to his bare neck and rub it – Blake had kept the master key and made sure everyone else took off their collars and threw them into the sea.

Ruby and Bolin couldn't have been happier to remove the collar from Sun.

"I know I said it a lot on the boat ride over, but thank you for taking care of Ruby." Yang looked over at Octavia, "And I'm sorry for your loss." She looked down at the table.

"It's not your fault," Octavia looked over at the guys, "They're no stranger to losing comrades, it's considered a part of their lifestyle at this point… but usually they'll always have their plates full with the constant training to distract them" The medic looked back at Yang, "Bolin once said that they all used the constant training to help distract themselves and eventually move on from the grief of losing a dear friend… For those that grieved longer than… Roman… would allow then it wasn't a pretty sight." The name felt putrid on her tongue.

"So it's everyone's first time having a time to grieve." Yang thought aloud, "I can't even begin to imagine what that's like."

"No one should." Octavia sighed, her olive green eyes watered slightly, but she quickly wiped it away and then ran a hand through her brick red hair, "Honestly, it's the first time anyone is able to grieve so openly… it's a little hard to process… and handle."

"You didn't cry at all today." Yang pointed out, Octavia remained rather stoic through out the whole day – offering a shoulder to those who needed it.

Which ended up being everyone.

"I'm trying to keep it together long enough to help them make it through the day." She smiled woefully, "I know that if I start crying then they'll start crying non-stop again."

"It's good to let all out though."

"That's not what we're used to."

"But you need to grieve too."

Octavia sighed, "I grieve in my own ways… if Torchwick Gladiators are strong in body then us… house slaves are strong in mind." She looked up at Yang, "These are my strengths – to comfort and cherish, and I will use it to the best of my ability."

"Oh." The Huntress looked over at the bar and called for the bar keep's attention, "Two ales, please."

"You don't have to-"

"I insist, on me." Yang interjected while smiling.

Octavia shook her head, "You've done enough for all of us already, and I can't imagine how much lien you've spent on us."

"Money is money, all I've been doing is stacking it away, don't worry about costs."

The tavern door swung open to reveal the stoic forms of Bolin and Ruby, the two managed to take three steps inside before the abrupt sound of wooden chairs scraping across the floor and the hasty scuffling of feet. Yang snapped her attention to the source of commotion and saw Neptune, Sage, and Scarlet standing with bated breath.

A nod from Bolin was all that it took for the group of men to sit back down and resume what ever it was that they were doing, leaving Yang utterly confused and perplexed by the interaction.

"You'll get used to it, or they'll get over it." Octavia laughed lightly at Yang's reaction, "It's a gladiator thing." They watched the pair approach the table with the other gladiators, the group made room for the new additions and they all sat in what appeared to be a comfortable silence.

"I'm learning a lot about Ruby's time as Gladiator from you guys." She appreciated it, "She wouldn't talk about it."

"It's understandable." Octavia said, the bar keep came over with their drinks, "If you don't mind, two more for the ones who walked in." She stood, "Come on, let's go sit with them and order some food – I don't think any of them remembered to eat today."

"I like that idea."

* * *

 _Weiss,_

 _Thank Oum you're alive. As soon as sailors and travelling vessels hit port in Atlas with the news of the slave rebellion in Mistral – my whole world nearly shattered. For days I was in a mood, I put Penny in charge of everything until I received your letter._

 _I have never felt such relief._

 _As I write this, I am in General Ironwood's study – we've taken a break for now from all the planning. To summarize, as soon as we received word of what happened in Mistral we were preparing a contingent of troops to send over in order to help quell what ever is left of the Kingdom._

 _Then King Grauer received an urgent message from King Ozpin and Councilman Oobleck with intimate details of what transpired that night, which concurred with the events you have written to me in your letter._

 _It wasn't a pretty scene with King Grauer – he and King Lionheart were steadfast allies._

 _Myself, General Ironwood, and a committee of other high officers and officials will leave in two days time for Vale, I intend to send this letter this evening so that you may receive it a few days ahead of our arrival._

 _My dearest sister, I need to see you as soon as I disembark – I ask that you take extra care to see our colors in port. We'll be taking the fastest vessel our Navy has to offer, the one made with tempered metal and has no sails – Yang can tell you more about it if you're curious._

 _I must forewarn you, Father will be accompanying us to help represent the civilians of Atlas – he is not happy with you. He received a letter from some man by the name of Roman Torchwick that has detailed you're latest escapades, I suspect that you wouldn't take such drastic measures to ex-communicate a vital business party without their being due cause for it. Father was also livid about the Faunus running the books and that slave you've taken an interest in. We will have to set aside some time to talk when I come to Vale._

 _Weiss, I don't know how many times I can say this to truly show you how relieved I am that you are safe. You have friends that are meant to last a lifetime at your side and that fill me with such ease._

 _May Oum continue to smile down on you,_

 _Commander Winter Schnee_

Weiss smiled once she finished reading the reply she received from her sister, she sat back in the chair that was inside of her room at the Valesian Inn and thought about the whirlwind of events.

It took a week to sail from Mistral to Vale, Ruby and the others stayed in town for barely a day before making arrangements for Sun's funeral on Patch. Meanwhile, Weiss, Klein, Blake, Reese, and Bolin's family stayed behind at the Inn in Vale – spending time together trying to gather themselves and really process what had taken place. Weiss was impressed at how steadfast and calm Reese Chloris proved to be, she had stepped in as a provider and rock for Hitomi and Mei – Weiss would learn that Reese was used to doing this while Bolin was away as slave to Torchwick to work off his deadbeat father's debt.

She hadn't seen the rag tag group in nearly a week now.

"You holding up alright?" Blake asked tentatively, she shared this room with Weiss and Klein. The manservant currently out in town, he couldn't sit still for too long and offered up his services to the Inn's owner. For decent pay, Klein helped out with the chores and in the kitchen around the Inn.

Weiss looked up at the Faunus, "I am, just still trying to digest everything that's happened." She looked at Blake, "We need to talk,"

Blake nodded, "I figured you would want to."

The former master and slave had avoided such a serious discussion since their arrival in Vale – there was much to do which included securing a shelter for their group (which Yang managed) and then figuring out expenses, Bolin's family wasn't as fortunate as Weiss (she thanked Ruby for her forward thinking) to have brought some lien or valuables, but between what Weiss had brought and managed to pawn off and what Yang had saved up they were able to cover the costs of living at Inn.

Then there was the matter of Oobleck, for a whole day the man investigated and questioned Blake for everything that the Faunus knew. The scholar took detailed notes and conferred regularly with Pyrrha on the situation.

Once satisfied, the Councilman smiled at Blake and told her to go relax because he got everything he needed. He reassured her that he wouldn't push for any charges against her for her cooperation.

"Why? Why did you join that – that group." Weiss chose her words carefully.

"I wanted justice…" Blake looked down, "When I came to Mistral after leaving behind everything in Menagerie – I couldn't even begin to try to find a decent job to support myself."

Weiss nodded, it was no secret that Faunus were often discriminated against for humans when it came to the hiring process. Something Weiss wanted to try and change, which is why (despite how much her she knew her father would vehemently be against it, which was confirmed by Winter's letter) she hired on Velvet to help her.

'Velvet…' Weiss thought forlornly, there was no way of knowing what happened to her friend, all she could offer was a small prayer to Oum that her friend was some how safe.

"I lived in the slums and everything was always dirty and every day was a matter of survival. I grew bitter and I blamed the nobles and the ruling family for not trying to make our lives better, try to make things fair for everyone – Faunus and slaves alike." Blake looked out the window, the night was settling in, "Then I met Adam, and he stirred something within me, he made me want to support him and to try to change things… but no matter how hard we tried, how we protested – nothing seem to work."

"And then you all started plotting the over throw of the Kingdom." Weiss finished.

Blake nodded, "It wasn't like that at first… it just… it just slowly transformed into that." Amber eyes looked back at the floor, "Then I was captured, I was beaten, I was abused and no one tried to rescue me – Adam, despite all his resources and connections, he didn't even bother to try and get me out, he didn't bother to try and reach out to me. And then for months I was just stuck there in the slave market… until you came along." She looked up at the Merchant, "There were plenty of other slaves there that didn't look nearly as rough as I did, who were healthier than I was… but you still picked me. You took me home, let me bathe, fed me, and then gave me clothes."

Weiss crossed the room and wrapped both her arms around Blake, "I must confess," She hugged the woman as tightly as she could, "It was Ruby that inspired me to pick you up that day, I saw her in you and… I just couldn't leave you be after that. And I'm so glad I didn't."

Blake shut her eyes tightly, "I should probably thank her then," She clutched to Weiss, "I loathed you at first," She broke away from their hug, "I had heard stories about the Schnee's and I had expected you to be just as malicious and vile. But then… you were the exact opposite of my expectations."

"Not all Schnee's are like my father." Weiss was apologetic as she said it.

"So I've come to learn," The Faunus smiled, "I'm sorry, again."

"For trying to kill me? No big deal." Weiss joked, she looked away, "If Ruby wasn't there, would you have done it?"

Blake looked at Weiss in the eyes, "I don't think I could have followed through."

* * *

"I'm just glad you were all able to make it out." King Ozpin paced about the room, a great round table was at the center of the grand room and at the table sat Oobleck. Pyrrha, and Jaune – they were discussing the next step.

"It was thanks Pyrrha and all those fine fighters aboard that vessel that I was able to make it out." Oobleck pointed out, "Especially that scout, Ruby Rose was her name, tenacious fighter – she was a crowd favorite in the Coliseum." The scholar sighed, they spent the days discussing and planning for the situation in Mistral.

"I'm glad to hear that my men were able to take care of you… but it is most unfortunate to hear that the rest of our POWs didn't make it home, especially after talking to their families." Ozpin pinched the bridge of his nose, "But now we have more pressing matters – the situation in Mistral is most dire, especially with that coup d'état Salem has master minded."

Oobleck sighed, "We spent the last few days pooling all the information we have together," Oobleck was fine with omitting that Blake was originally a part of the rebellion, "Salem had found out about the slave rebellion, but instead of reporting it she used it to her advantage to stage a coup. I've compiled a list of all the nobles I've suspected to be loyal to her. For example, Scout Rose mentioned she saw the Army being led by Hazel Rainart, someone who has an intense loyalty to Salem, so I would have assumptions that the Army is compromised… especially with the lack of guards present during King Lion heart's murder." A distant look encompassed the scholar's face, he lost a good friend that night too.

"I've some things in mind, Bartholomew." Ozpin looked out the window, "I've already sent a letter a while back to General Ironwood and also to my good friend in Vacuo proposing a meeting to discuss the situation in Mistral. Those in Atlas and Vacuo still think of the events in Mistral as a Slave Rebellion, they have no idea what's really gone on the past few weeks."

"He is coming?" Pyrrha questioned, out of respect her and Jaune had remained quiet for the most part.

"Yes, I would appreciate it if you and Commander Arc would attend the meeting and share your accounts of what happened to everyone, it would immensely help when it comes to taking the next step."

"I'll do what ever takes." Pyrrha nodded, "They killed my father… that is an offense that I can not let go lightly."

"They took a lot from all of us." Oobleck added, "Atty was a dear friend of mine too, Pyrrha."

* * *

The Crow Bar – that's what was written on a sign above the tavern that Yang had led Ruby into. The Rose remembered passing by the establishment a few times, but she had never bothered to ever go in before – she wasn't much of a drinker.

Well, she wasn't in the past.

It was still mid-morning, and the place was empty, save for a single man sitting in the corner nursing a glass of what Yang assumed to be a brandy of the sort. His red eyes looked up from his drink once he caught sight of the blond.

"Oum… you weren't kidding." He stood up.

"Is this..?" Ruby started.

"Yeah, this is Uncle Qrow." Yang motioned.

"You're alive." Qrow looked over the smaller girl, he stepped in closer to get a better look at her, but Ruby took a step back.

"S-Sorry." Ruby apologized, "I don't mean to be rude, I really don't remember you."

"No, it's fine kid. In due time, I'm sure." Qrow smiled down at his niece. "I'm just… glad you're here." He took note of the various scars that decorated his niece's arms; Yang did say that she was a gladiator – a damn good one.

He stuck out his hand, a slight smile grew on Ruby's face as she shook it.

"Same." Yang motioned to the bar, the two followed suit, "Two ales."

"Actually, do you have any wine?" Ruby piped up.

"Such a Mistrali thing." Qrow mused.

"Yeah we do, it'll be in the back though." The bar keep said, he finished pouring out a pint for Yang.

"Don't like ale?" The Huntress asked.

Ruby shook her head, "I don't mind it, I just… have a taste for wine now I guess." She laughed lightly once she caught sight of the look on Qrow's face, "A Mistrali thing it is."

"Don't sweat it, I enjoy a good wine every now and then. Vale actually has a few vineyards around, maybe the barkeep will bring some out." Qrow mentioned.

"I see."

"So Yang mentioned you became a scout in the Army." Qrow let out easily, he took a deep breath to really settle the topic that had started to burn in the back of his mind. He looked at Yang for a moment and recalled all the times that his blond niece would ask about this, "It's funny, your mother and father were scouts too."

Yang looked up in surprise, this was the first Qrow had mentioned this without being probed.

"Really?" Ruby looked up at the man in a new light, "How do you know that?"

"Because I was in the same scouting battalion as them." Qrow looked up at the ceiling, "127th Brigade, 3rd Battalion, Charger Company – during the 5-year with Atlas… well, I'm sure your familiar with the MO, go through a lot of vacancies in 3rd Battalion."

"Some of the guys in the brigade nicknamed 3rd Battalion 'certain death'." Ruby joked; she felt a small connection with the man next to her.

"If you weren't cut out for it, of course." Qrow smiled slightly, "They split us off into scouting teams during the war – that's how I met your mother and father… and my sister too. The company nicknamed us team STRQ – Summer, Tai, Raven, and Qrow."

Yang remained silent, she sipped her ale as she listened to her uncle speak.

"Best scouting team there was." Qrow looked back down at the bar, "Your mother, Summer, she was probably the best one out of all of us, she moved like the wind and was hard to catch, a lot of enemies dropped dead because they didn't know what hit them."

"Fast? Heh…" Ruby took the cup of wine and sipped it, more bitter than the casks in Mistral, but she preferred it more, "In the Arena, they called me the Reaper, I was known for my speed, probably the fastest one of them all. I guess I know where my speed comes from now."

"Reaper? You wield a scythe too?" Qrow looked at his niece in disbelief.

"Scythe? Who would wield a scythe in battle?"

Yang smiled as she watched the reunited pair, she wasn't the only one that was missing Ruby.

"Me. I wield a scythe in battle." Qrow answered with a smug smirk on his face.

Ruby raised a brow at the man, "I insist that we have a friendly spar because I have never met an opponent who has fought with a scythe."

Qrow nodded his head, he thinks everything will work out just fine with the kid.

* * *

"Hey." Weiss looked at the doorway and smiled, she saw Ruby standing there with an easy grin on her face. Ruby had come back from Patch with everyone the night prior and they had a huge dinner to welcome back the weary fighters. Weiss expected a somber mood during dinner, but she was surprised at how calm and collective the old Gladiators were. They shared easy conversations and proved to be a great source of entertainment for Bolin's younger sister Mei.

"Hey," Weiss called back, the two shared a room with Blake and Yang at the Inn in Vale, their whole group pretty much booked the entire Inn. Bolin was next door with his family, the Neptune, Octavia, Scarlet, and Sage shared the room over. Klein insisted he get a room of his own, Ruby offered to sleep on a bedroll on the floor to give the man the fourth bed in the room, but Klein wasn't going to have it.

"Where's Blake?" Ruby looked around, Yang decided to stay at the Crow Bar with their uncle, but Ruby wanted to come back to the Inn.

"She went to look around in town with Klein, they saw a book store the other day that they wanted to check out."

"Tukson's Book Trade?" She asked as she plopped down on her bed.

"How'd you know?" Weiss was impressed.

Ruby smiled, "I used to go there a lot. Plus it's probably the best one in town."

"Should have known, why are you back without Yang?" Weiss looked around for the blond.

She took a deep breath, "I was hoping to get some time alone with you… " Ruby looked around, "I ran into Ren and Nora last night, they greeted us at the dock because Yang sent word to everyone that we were all coming back to Vale."

The Schnee nodded her head in affirmation, "I was wondering where they were last night."

"They were at my cottage putting in some finishing touches." A slight smile.

Weiss perked up, "Your cottage?"

The scout nodded, "Yeah… they took care of it." Ruby's eyes watered slightly, "They didn't give up hope that I'd come home, so they wanted to make sure it was exactly the way I left it."

"Ruby…" Weiss gasped, "So are you going?"

"I was hoping you'd come with me." Ruby looked down, "It's okay if you don't, it's nothing like your Villa in Mistral."

"I would love to go." Weiss beamed.

"Let's go then," The scout perked up visibly, "It's right on the edge of town, but it isn't too far from here."

Weiss had gone about experimenting with homely fashion of Vale, she wore a light dress the fell above her knees with short sleeves and sandals, something a far cry different than the Mistrali flowing robes. Ruby looked right at home in her favored dark trousers and creamed colored short sleeve tunic. At her waist was a sword belt in fine repair, and probably the most discerning was the forest green cloak that was signature for scouts in the Army – the Valesian silver badge was well polished and helped clasp the cloak together.

"You look beautiful." Ruby complimented, she planted a kiss on the Merchant's cheek.

"And you, dashing." She looked her up and down, "Green does look good on you too."

"I prefer it."

Together the two travelled down the main road towards the edge of town, it was a pleasant spring evening. Weiss loved the quaint look of the Kingdom, how much forests and flowers lined the streets, and then the fresh air. Every time she breathed it in, it reminded her Ruby. It was just about the exact opposite of Mistral, dust and sand everywhere with buildings crammed in tight and the people constantly on the move.

People took their time here and they enjoyed their lives.

"How come you're not staying at your cottage already?" Weiss was curious.

Ruby hummed, "Nora said she wanted to clean up one last time before telling me about it." She smiled, "Her and Ren live down the road from me."

"What about the city walls?" Weiss questioned, she realized that she hadn't seen too much of it, not like Mistral.

"There are a lot of natural barriers that keep the Grimm out." Ruby explained, "I mean, there will be the odd Beowulf or Creep every now and then, but nothing the Kingdom can't handle."

"Do you get a lot of that near your cottage?"

Ruby shook her head, "Not at all, but if you venture deep enough into the Forever Fall Forest you'll find a Grimm or two around. But Grimm will keep to themselves unless there's some fighting nearby… like in Mistral." She frowned at the thought, "Once in a while, the Huntsman Guild will send a patrol through the forest to make sure the Grimm population isn't an issue."

"Interesting." Weiss smiled as she watched the tree's change in color to a deep red hue, "Why do they call it the Forever Fall Forest?"

"In the fall, the leaves change to red and then change back to green in the spring." Ruby explained, "The tree's here stay red all year round, hence the name Forever Fall."

"That's surprisingly romantic." She smiled and soaked in the view.

"That's it." Ruby pointed out the cottage.

Weiss gasped slightly, it was built out of white wood that made up the walls and then outlined in dark brown. A small garden was seen in front that looked recently weeded out, nearby was a wooden shed that also looked neat and clean. A single wooden door made up the entrance directly in the center of the building, on either side were glass windows that were wiped clean.

"It's absolutely charming." Weiss smiled, she couldn't wait to go inside.

"Judging by how well they kept up the front yard and the fact that they even re-thatched my roof, I imagine the inside is clean too." Ruby had an everlasting grin on her face, she felt her chest well up at the mere sight of her home. "I bought this place after my first deployment, I was 17 at the time." Her hand reached the door, "Three years… three whole years and now I'm here" She thought back on it all, "I'm in my 22nd year now… my birthday is actually in June."

"I'll keep that in mind," She smiled tenderly, "Are you ready?" Weiss placed a hand on top of hers.

"Yeah."

With a push, the door opened, to the left was the kitchen area and then a table that seated four in the dining portion nearby. To the right was Ruby's living room, a couple chairs surrounded a stone fireplace, in the corner were several pelts and blankets neatly folded with a bookshelf right next to the window.

"The sun hits that spot just right during the day, I enjoy reading my books there." Ruby motioned, "I would do dinner with Ren and Nora either here or at their place, Ren makes the best roast ever." She ran her hand across the smooth surface of the table and took note that it felt polished.

Weiss nodded as she stepped into the space, she tried to imagine Ruby standing at the stove cooking up her meals, Ruby sitting by the fire place in the winter time with a book in her lap, Ruby taking a nap in the corner by the window with her sun shining down her face.

Off to the left was a door that led to the backyard portion of the house.

"I don't have a bathing area in here, there's a well in back and a wash house that I built. I've got a tub set up so that I can light some coals underneath to keep the water warm when it's cold out." Ruby explained, "Like I said, not like your Villa."

"I'm in love with your home."

"Wh-what?" Ruby was slightly confused.

"I like it better than the Villa…" Weiss walked about, her eyes resting on the last door towards the back of the house, "Is this your room?"

Ruby nodded.

Weiss pushed her hand through the door and tentatively stepped through frame, to the left was a full size bed with blankets neatly folded on top. A simple rug was laid out on the floor and then on the opposite wall was a small desk and chair as well as a dresser, what really got her attention was the shelf tucked away in the corner.

"Did you make all these?" Weiss picked up a carving of a rose.

"I learned how to do some wood work and whittling while I was a child, the wood work definitely came in handy when it came to working on the cottage." Ruby's voice was soft, it was probably Ren that went out and got her some wood to carve since there was a couple pieces of wood laid out next to her carving tools.

"Your friends, they really took care of this place." Weiss took a seat on the bedding, the walk over was a bit longer than she anticipated, but she figured it's because she was so used to taking a carriage every where.

"They really did." Ruby sighed in delight, "You don't know how happy I am to be actually coming home right now." A tear ran down her cheek, Ruby took note that it was dusk out. "We should probably head back now." Ruby turned heel to leave.

Weiss grabbed Ruby's hand before she could take another step. "Let's sleep here tonight."

"Weiss, you don't have to."

"I want to."

It was true, Weiss Schnee wanted to know what it was like to live here and be wrapped up in Ruby.

"Your cottage, I absolutely adore it. It's cozy and I've never felt more welcome in my life." She stepped closer to the scout, "I like it more than my Villa in Mistral, I feel more at home here than I ever had in my Manor in Atlas."

"Weiss…" Another tear streaked down the scout's cheek, the merchant took care and wiped it away for her.

"I love you, Ruby Rose."

And just like that, Ruby forgot how to breathe; instead she was lost in the diamond blue eyes that belonged to the girl in her arms. Her hands had a mind of it's own as she trailed them up Weiss' arms, then her neck, and finally her cheeks. The tip of her fingers caught the fine silk that made up her beautiful silvery hair.

Ruby burned the image of the Valesian dusk gently illuminating the face of Weiss Schnee.

"I love you too, Weiss Schnee."

It was like gravity when their lips met, so natural in the way that the two came together. With a gentle caress, Ruby slipped her hand behind Weiss' head to bring her closer, her other hand snaked around her waist in order to feel her body against hers.

Weiss had both her arms draped around her lover's neck, coaxing her closer and closer until there wasn't any more physical distance left.

They broke away, each breathing heavily and with eyes glazed over with something more than lust – something so much more tender and deep. Ruby reached for her cloak and sword belt, she hastily unclasped both of them as she watched Weiss leisurely slip out of her sandals and then began working at the ties that held her dress together. Ruby's eyes burned while she went about kicking off her boots, the fine fabric began to fall off of Weiss' form.

In a flash, Ruby closed the distance, her lips finding Weiss' – and Weiss leading the two closer to the bed. Together the two fell over on to the bedding, the cotton felt soft against Weiss' skin, but Ruby's tunic and trousers did not feel soft at all. She began to pull at the annoying items, Weiss wanted to feel Ruby's skin on her own. Her nimble hands found the hem of the tunic and then quickly she worked her hand underneath, groping at the taut muscles of Ruby's stomach before making it's way to her waistband with such light touches.

Ruby gasped at Weiss' ministrations, they were light and ticklish for her, but she knew that this was how Weiss like to tease her. The scout broke away for a moment to remove her tunic and began to undo the ties of her trousers. The whole time she stood over Weiss, who lay down and watched with such seductive eyes. Like so many times before, Weiss' gaze would come across every scar that decorated Ruby's body – she would linger her eyes on the newer ones that she received during their escape from Mistral.

Now in the buff, Ruby took her time crawling her way back up to Weiss' lips. She took her time planting a kiss her hip, then her naval, the valley between her breasts, her neck, and Weiss would lose her patience at that – the merchant grabbed a fistful of the scout's hair and forcefully brought those teasing lips to her own. Ruby smiled into the fervent kiss, her hands left a burning trail on Weiss skin.

Weiss moaned softly, it sent shivers down her spine to feel those callouses lightly rub against her skin. The feel of those dexterous fingers drawing random patterns.

With a huff, Weiss flipped them over, so that for once she would be on top.

"H-hey, I wasn't done." Ruby pouted, Weiss straddled her at the waist and the scout didn't miss how wet and hot Weiss' core felt against her stomach.

"I wanna try something a little different." Weiss grinded her slick cunt against those hard muscles, a small whimper escaped her throat, but she stopped herself. Dainty fingers traced the outline of her abs and then a few scars that decorated her stomach, Weiss bent over and met Ruby's lips with her own.

Ruby sighed in content as she felt Weiss shift her weight, the merchant planting a trail of kisses down Ruby's breasts, her stomach, and then finally her hot core that was begging for attention.

Weiss shifted down more, kissing down Ruby's thigh and then finally hooking the scout's legs over her shoulders. Silver eyes peered down into her blue ones, and without hesitation, Weiss claimed her mouth over Ruby's core.

Ruby fisted a handful of those silver locks, she moaned and whimpered as she felt Weiss' tongue lap up her juices and tease her clit before finally inserting itself inside.

She withered at the feeling of those dainty fingers entering inside and with that tenacious tongue lashing out at her clit. Weiss smiled when she felt Ruby's grip on her hair tighten more, she increased her ministrations when she felt those powerful hips raise off the bedding.

Ruby was getting ready to cum.

"W-Weiss…" Ruby panted, her hips buckling at the build up, "Weiss…" Silver eyes dared to look back down at the erotic sight between her legs, "I… fucking love you." With a swirl of her tongue, Ruby exploded, a soft sweet moan echoing off of the walls of the cottage. She felt her weight straddle her waist once more, Ruby looked up to see Weiss hovering over.

"I love you too." The two locked lips and Ruby groaned while she tasted herself.

Weiss yelped when she felt Ruby maneuver herself so that Weiss was about to straddle the scout's face. Gently, Ruby used her hands to spread the merchant's legs open even more.

"R-Ruby… it's kinda embarrassing." Weiss had never done this before.

"I think you'll like it." Ruby winked, she looked over the wet cunt of her lover – Weiss Schnee was dripping wet and Ruby absolutely loved it. "Don't worry about noise, we're pretty far from town."

"Ru-" Weiss was cut short once she felt Ruby's tongue lick up her slit.

The merchant gasped and she fell on to her elbows, Ruby gripped tightly on her waist to keep her in place so that she could continue _eating_ her so voraciously. Weiss' moans echoed off of the walls of the cottage.

"Ruby…" Weiss choked out, "Ruby…" Her pitch a bit higher, like a mantra, Weiss kept repeating Ruby's name. Her hips began to grind into Ruby's mouth to a rhythm; each steady movement was met perfectly by Ruby, steadily increasing the delicious pleasure that was building.

Weiss pushed herself back up, her hips still grinding but now with Weiss upright. The merchant grabbed a fistful of that red hair with both hands, Weiss started biting her bottom lip as she rode her lover's face.

Faster and faster, the rhythm went, Ruby smirked once she heard Weiss' voice leak out like a crescendo – becoming louder and sweeter as she reached her peak.

"Ruby!" Weiss cried with her head thrown back, her body quaked with the orgasmic waves that electrified her.

In a huff, Weiss fell over, her breathing erratic and her skin covered in a layer of sweat. Ruby wasn't better off as she too was in the same boat. The scout shifted herself back to Weiss who lay prone on her side, lazily she draped her arm over her side.

Weiss reached out and pulled Ruby in for a kiss, her body absolutely spent from their activities.

"I love you." Weiss whispered softly.

"I love you too." Ruby replied.

* * *

A/N:

To me, those three words are sacred and valuable, which is why the moment Weiss finally said it is one of my favorite scenes I've written so far.

With the beginning scenes on Patch... I pulled from somewhere deep and personal to write that, I didn't want to get in-depth on the actual ceremony because... because I don't think that's something someone can truly write and something that someone can truly enjoy reading. it was a tough scene for me to write over all.

On a serious note, I've been doing a lot of thinking these past couple of days. Gladiator is coming to a deciding point of the sorts and I've been doing some long and hard thinking about which direction to go in. I won't say much now, but I've made a decision that I'll elaborate more on (for those that care to know) in the next chapter. I mean it when I say that, as a writer, this decision is the toughest one I've ever had to make - hence why I've held out on updating Gladiator for a couple days.

I want to say thank you, all of you, like Winter, I don't know how many times I can say it to truly show how grateful I am to everyone who has supported and enjoyed this story. Without you guys, I don't think I would have had the motivation or inspiration to keep going and writing Gladiator.

So once again, thank you all from the bottom of my heart.

See you all soon,

DevilRed


	22. Step by Step

Sweat dripped down her brow, but she made no attempt to wipe it away out of wariness for the skillful opponent in front of her. On reflex, she rolled forward, narrowly missing the great swing of the scythe that was aimed for her head.

Qrow Branwen had stopped holding back against his niece.

Ruby raised her shield, the Valesian symbol shone brightly in the morning sun light, the dulled edge of the scythe was deflected and then the flash of her training blade lashed out in response to the attack.

Ren observed Ruby retaliate with the short sword, initially she fought the first few sparring rounds with the traditional Valesian one-handed sword, but the blade proved to be too long and unfamiliar to what the former Gladiator had become accustomed to.

The next best thing to a Mistrali gladius was the Valesian short sword.

The seasoned Huntsman spun his scythe around, Nora was mesmerized at the movement of the deadly weapon, the way he moved the scythe in a deadly dance – each step forward he struck with his weapon, moving hand over hand as he swung the scythe. Ruby did all she could to try to dodge each attack; it was like fighting an opponent with a pole arm – just more difficult, more unpredictable, and more deadly.

Weiss gasped, Ruby sustained a cut on her upper arm – despite Qrow reassuring that the blade was dulled.

"We can stop." Qrow looked at his niece's wound, the blood was beginning to seep through the tunic.

Ruby raised her shield and brandished her sword, "I don't remember yielding." Her tone dangerous, Bolin smirked at the predictable line, he recognized the look that flashed across Ruby's eyes.

Ruby Rose was going to stop holding back, too.

Qrow was caught off guard at the sudden up-tempo, Ruby moved fast – really fast. She thrust her sword forward, aiming for his stomach, and then raised her shield just in time to meet the arm of the scythe before Qrow could swing it around. The Hunter jumped backwards in an attempt to put some distance between him and his opponent, he swung down the blade in an attempt to cleave his incoming opponent, but Ruby rolled to the side at the last minute to escape the attack.

"H-Hey!" Yang called out in a warning, she recognized that her uncle had used a serious attack.

"They'll be fine." Bolin reassured, "Ruby's the one asking for it."

Ruby closed the distance her uncle tried to put in-between them, her sword raised and a well-practiced combination executed. Qrow parried and block each stroke of the short sword, he had no time to swing his war scythe around – he doubted any warrior would have time to try and retaliate.

The seasoned Hunter quickly recognized the disadvantageous situation that was beginning to develop, he was going to run out of space to back up into if he didn't act soon. With the pole end of his scythe, he planted the end with a well-timed thrust forward. Ruby was momentarily taken back, the blow had knocked the wind out of her and would surely leave a sizable bruise on her stomach later.

Qrow spun his whole body around, the scythe elegantly twirling around into an all out attack that was aimed to slay. The scythe's edged gleamed in the sunlight, the razor edge coming for Ruby's head as the fighter struggled to regain her bearing.

"Qrow!" Yang yelled out in rage once she recognized the attack he usually saved for the more dangerous Grimm.

It was pure instinct.

Ruby raised her iron shield in time, the edge of her shield catching the scythe's edge – sparks practically flew while Ruby moved forward, the scythe's bladed edge slicing the air behind her and her short sword poised for the final move.

Qrow blinked, a flash of silver and then a slight burning sensation could be felt on his check. His red eyes flicked over and saw his own reflection in the blade.

"I yield." The dusty old Hunter proclaimed as his blood began to run down his cheek.

"Have you lost your mind?" Yang pushed her Uncle, "It's just a spar!"

"Yang." Ruby panted, out of breathe from the spar, "If anyone's to blame, it's me."

"Ruby, he almost _decapitated_ you." The blond turned towards her sister.

"I was asking for it." The Gladiator held a defiant air, "I wanted a fight to the best of his abilities, and he gave it to me." She stared her sister in the eyes, "It was a good fight and none of us were in danger to die."

Qrow nodded, "I haven't sparred like that since… well, for a while now." He was about to mention something about his days with Tai in the Army.

"It was a good fight, I might have to ask for a round one day." Bolin looked on eagerly.

"Only if it's with wooden practice swords." Reese chastised, she glared something fierce at Bolin.

"O-Of course…" Bolin trailed off, but his eyes didn't stop lingering on the war scythe and the marvelous performance it had just put on.

"Speaking of a round." Neptune got up, at his side were Scarlet and Sage dressed in garb comfortable enough for some exercise, "Let's say we go for a round, Bo. I got fired up watching the Reaper in action." He grabbed a wooden training sword, Sage and Scarlet nodded in suit, the two were antsy for some action.

Reese nodded with her eyes rolled, "Oh boy…"

"How can I say no to a request like that?" Bolin smiled as he leaned over to pick up another wooden sword.

Weiss looked on in exasperation at the scene, "How do they have the energy to keep sparring? You guys have been at it since practically dawn."

"We've got a lot of energy." Ruby shrugged. "Thank you for that… Uncle Qrow."

Qrow set his scythe to the side, he rolled his neck around before wiping at the cut on his cheek, "Any time kid, but hopefully we can hold back on having another spar like that. You sure did a number on me." He smiled at his niece.

That was the first time Ruby had called him Uncle.

"You were pretty good yourself, there were a few moments where I thought you had me." Ruby looked at the wound on her arm, it bled a lot but it didn't look deep, "Although I'm sure the guys are going to want a piece of you too after all that."

"Only if they can beat you." Qrow closed one eye as he watched Bolin tear through Neptune's defenses. "I could definitely use a drink after all this, it's been a long time since I've had to get up early for training." He stretched out his back, "What else do you guys have planned for the day?"

"Well, Weiss wants to go to the port again to see if Winter's ship has come in." Ruby mentioned casually, she grabbed some bandages from Nora and went about dressing the cut on her arm.

"Winter?" Qrow forehead raised in surprised.

"I guess I forgot to mention that the other day, Winter's coming to town with General Ironwood." Yang had nearly forgot that her Uncle knew the Altesian officer.

"Wait." Weiss narrowed her eyes at the Hunter, "You know Winter?"

"Yeah he does, he kicked her ass in the 5-year War with Atlas, but he let her go in the end." Yang grinned cheekily at her friend.

"Preposterous!" Weiss nearly screeched, "Winter's a decorated officer and a well-regarded swordsman of the highest caliber in Atlas' rank."

Qrow wished, he patted his older niece on her back, "Don't antagonize the Ice Queen like that, Winter is a really good officer."

"Ice Queen?" Weiss rolled her eyes at the comment, she could see where Yang picked up her boisterous attitude, "You may know Winter, but you surely can't be a friend."

"On the contrary, we are friends of the sort." Qrow flashed a charming smile, "Your sister and I have kept in… touch, I suppose."

" _Friends?_ " The Schnee went wide eyed at the very thought, "I find it hard to believe that my older sister would be friend with you."

"You and me both, Ice Queen." Qrow antagonized the younger Schnee, "You definitely are as much fun to poke at like your sister, albeit, a lot more vocal about it."

"In more ways than one…" Yang added quietly, but Weiss still caught the comment.

"Yang." Weiss seethed.

* * *

The wind rustled the tree's surround the humble Valesian port, a rather sizable crowd had begun to gather around a pier that was supposed to dock an Altesian marvel. Sailors and travelers alike leaned over the railings of wharfs and other ships in the surround area, there were rumors in other ports (especially down in Menagerie) of this technological wonder. A vessel with no sails and was powered by fire Dust crystals – the exact engineering and design of the ship's power source and how it propels itself forward is still a close hold secret to the Kingdom of Atlas.

The distinct colors of a black and white flew in the wind, the proud emblem of the Altesian Kingdom flowed majestically in the breeze – two circular patterns and a spear was overlaid it, a stark contrast the crossed axes that represented Vale. The iron beast pulled to port, the crew on board and a few hands on the pier were going about prepping the vessel for a long-term stay in port.

A woman with white hair that was a signature to Altesian natives wore a white spring dress that danced lightly in the wind.

Weiss Schnee smiled at the sight, she hadn't realized how home sick she was until she caught sight of Atlas' colors pulling into port. The crowd began buzzing, rumors and whispers flying around about what's going to happen next.

What will this conference between Atlas, Vale, and even Vacuo yield?

Was it a slave rebellion?

Have you seen the refugees coming in by the boatful?

Did you hear the stories of how Mistral was being razed?

Regicide! Betrayal! Scandal! War!

War…

Weiss looked over at Ruby Rose, she had accompanied her to port in order to look for the Altesian ships. That silver gaze pondered curiously at her blue eyes, Ruby grinned at her and then squeezed her hand in reassurance. Weiss returned the gesture with a smile of her own, grateful for Ruby's presence.

"Ah, it's the same crew I sailed with from Menagerie to Mistral." Yang squinted her eyes and looked at the men buzzing around deck, a few caught sight of her and waved excitedly in her direction.

"Penny!" Yang bellowed once she caught sight of the signature orange hair of the Lieutenant. Weiss watched as the Lieutenant perked up and then leaned out over the top of the deck.

"Yang! Hello friend!" Penny yelled back.

Yang smiled to herself, "This is going to be loads of fun."

"If it's anything like what Winter has told me, then it's going to be loads of headaches for the rest of us." Weiss quipped, "Just no bar fights, _Yang._ "

"Bar fights?" Ruby looked at her older sister perplexed, this was news to her.

Yang had a mischievous air about her, "We'll see how this all pans out."

"Your sister can be a complete wildfire if you let her." Weiss rolled her eyes.

"She definitely can be." Blake piped in, she leaned into Yang's arm a bit closer, "But please, _behave?"_ Those amber eyes looked into the blonde's lilac ones.

With a dramatic sigh, Yang shrugged, "I'll try my best then, since you asked so nicely." She planted a kiss on the Faunus' temple.

"Of course." Weiss rolled her eyes again at Yang's attempts to antagonize her, again.

"Come on," Ruby sighed, but she kept that smile on her face due to her sister and Weiss' antics, "Let's go find your sister."

"I think you'll like Penny," Yang looked over Blake, "She's actually the one that threw that bar stool at you and Klein."

"I can see now why you get along with her so well." Blake sighed exasperatedly at the memory, "We may have to keep you two in separate corners."

"Where's the fun in that?" Yang retorted.

Ruby watched the black and yellow pair trot ahead, some crewmembers were climbing over the sides to greet Yang and it looked like the Lieutenant was making way to the blond as well.

"You ready?" Ruby asked.

Weiss had shown the fighter the letter that Winter had sent ahead – the merchant was apprehensive at the though of meeting her father. She was able to guess that Roman had disclosed all of what had transpired to her father as soon as she broke away from the vile man.

But what's a dead man's word to Jacques Schnee's own daughter?

Weiss nodded, "I hope Winter is around soon… Father's wrath is most… unpleasant, but she knows how to keep him in check."

"If we're lucky, we'll see Winter first before your Father." Ruby smiled soothingly, "Do you see her at all?"

Weiss squinted towards the deck, all she saw were uniforms walking around, no head or tail of any thing else (like her father's signature high-collared coat and white breeches that signified his nobility status).

Ruby looked around too, her eyes scanning in practice pattern for someone that looked like Weiss (despite Ruby never seeing Winter in person, she could make some guesses). Her eyes landed on the familiar officer uniform that she had seen a few times in passing, the rank on her collar signified that this officer is a Commander. At her waist was a rapier similar to the one Weiss had brought from Mistral. The striking white hair and blue eyes was the final tip off to Ruby.

"Is that Winter? There on pier already." Ruby pointed.

Weiss nodded her head as she followed where Ruby pointed, "Yes, that is her."

"Let's go say hello then." Ruby pulled at her hand.

Weiss nodded and then took a deep breath, "Let's go, hopefully we can get away before Father disembarks."

The pair barely made it half way before Winter caught sight of them, the confident stride exuded the poise and air of a well-respected leader.

Ruby swallowed hard, a foreboding pit began to form in her stomach and the hairs on the back of her neck began to stand. The piercing gaze of Winter Schnee was staring pointedly at where Ruby's hand connected with Weiss.

The Gladiator let go once she realized what the Commander was staring at.

"Winter!" Weiss cried out, she ran up to her older sister who caught her easily in her arms.

"Weiss. Thank Oum." Winter enveloped her baby sister with a great hug, the men in uniform paused for moment to take in the rare sight of _the Commander_ being vulnerable. She stepped back to do a once over of her sister, "No injuries I should know about?"

Weiss shook her head, "None, a lot of this I owe in part to Ruby." She turned to introduce said girl.

Ruby felt self-conscious in her get up, she wanted to pull the green hood of her cloak over her head and the sword at her hip suddenly felt heavy underneath the analytical gaze that belonged to the Commander in front of her.

"Corporal?" Winter motioned to the rank that Ruby bore on her sword belt, it was customary for all soldiers in the Valesian army to bear their rank on their sword belt whenever they weren't in proper uniform.

"Uh… Yes ma'am." Ruby nodded, if she hadn't been captured then the Scout would have easily been a Sergeant (or a Staff Sergeant like Ren).

"You're Ruby Rose, the Torchwick slave?" Winter's gaze held steady.

"Er… I was, but I was a POW and Commander Arc helped ensure I was freed." Ruby replied, Weiss raised a brow at the interaction – she had never seen Ruby stand on ceremony and she had never seen what seemed to be _dread_ radiating off of the Gladiator.

"So you've been gallivanting around with my baby sister? Judging by how familiar you were with her earlier." Winter's voice was ice cold.

Weiss started giggling – Ruby Rose looked like she was quaking in her boots.

"I- er… Uh… Well-" Ruby crumpled underneath the crushing gaze that belonged to Winter.

"Looks like you've met my baby sister, Winter." Yang walked up to the group.

Ruby sighed in relief once that pointed gaze came off of her, Yang smirked once she caught sight of the thankful look on her baby sister's face.

"Sister?" Winter looked astonished at the claim, "Qrow only ever mentioned there being only one of you…"

Yang waved her hand, "Long story."

Winter sighed, her gaze went to the vessel in port, suddenly remembering why she had disembarked earlier than the rest of the official party, "Let's go somewhere else, before Father disembarks." A rather serious expression was on her face, "I asked General Ironwood special permission to disembark much earlier than anyone else – I need to talk to you, Weiss."

"O-Of course," Weiss looked about, "But where?"

"Maybe the tavern in town?" Blake offered up, "The one you told Penny to meet us later for drinks and food once she finishes up." She motioned to Yang.

The Huntress snapped her fingers, "Good call."

"Lead the way." Winter nodded to the blond.

In the distance, a dusty old crow watched on with red eyes, he smiled ever so slightly at the sight.

* * *

The five women took a table in the corner of the tavern that wasn't located too far from port, Weiss took note of the name "The Rusty Cog". Already inside were handfuls of travelers and other sailors, who all took note as soon as Winter Schnee came strolling in clad in the Altesian military garb. The Commander undid her sword belt and hung it off the back of her chair, taking extra care that the hilt was next to her right hand for ease of access. Ruby did the same, but positioned her sword to accommodate her left-handedness. Yang usually carried a short dagger in the back of her waist in lieu of her great sword whenever she would go into town.

The waiter approached the new group, Winter ordered a light meal and some water to accommodate, the rest of the group followed suit – especially Yang and Ruby who had worked up quite the appetite after sparring that morning with everyone.

"So, what is it that you wanted to talk about?" Weiss took a sip from her water, they were waiting for the kitchen to come out with their orders.

Winter looked at her sister steadily in the eyes, "I won't mince words: Father is going to cut you off and wants to bring you back to Atlas on, his exact words were, ' _a more stringent and close hold watch'_."

" _What_?!" Weiss stood up in her seat, Ruby planted a firm hand on her leg in an attempt to coax her back into her seat. "Preposterous, over what?"

Winter sighed, "I talked to Father for a bit on the voyage here… but you know how _uneasy_ our relationship is." The eldest Schnee turned her back on Jacques' interests for the interests of Atlas. The decision has never sat well with the Schnee patriarch. "He's set on his decision, he already has Whitley studying the books and accounts you set up in Mistral – he intends to send Whitley down to Mistral to take over the business and strike up a relationship with ' _the new regime'._ " The Commander rolled her eyes.

Yang and Blake looked at each other, and then towards the sisters. The Huntress shrugged and the stood up from her seat, the Faunus mirroring her actions and the two headed to an open spot at the bar to allow the conversation to finish.

Ruby made a move to scoot her chair back to join her sister, but a glance from Winter had the scout stone still in her place – Yang snickered at the interaction, looks like her sister had an impeding battle (more like interrogation) with the elder Schnee.

" _New regime?"_ Weiss ignored the brute and her dolt's exchange, more keen on what exactly her sister is saying, "It was regicide! Father wants to keep doing business with traitors?" She seethed.

Winter rubbed her temples, "Commerce is still on-going, slightly disrupted from the sham rebellion, but the Mistrali port is still active – almost as if there were plans already in place for such a contingency." She narrowed her eyes, "From some of the traders that have come from the Mistral, there's still a solid group of nobles still around to manage the accounts and businesses for trade and such."

"Pyrrha mentioned that they compiled a list of nobles who were suspected to be loyal to Salem." Weiss thought out loud.

"That's what we're going to discuss today and for the next few days." Winter sighed, "King Grauer specifically told General Ironwood that he's in favor to some sort of action to rectify the situation. Father is more keen on what's good for his business." She rolled her eyes.

"What are you guys proposing to do?" The younger Schnee was curious.

Winter gulped down the rest of her water, "I'll let you know once the conference makes an official stance." She wasn't one to add to the rumor mill.

"Of course." Weiss nodded her head, "But going back to father – what is it exactly that set him over the edge?" She knew Winter made references in her reply.

Winter Schnee flicked her gaze to Ruby Rose, the scout visibly stiffened, "You're old business partner, Roman Torchwick, he wrote to Father – and Father brought the letter along, which I read."

"What was in it?" Weiss questioned, she could take a few guesses.

"In summary, Lord Torchwick detailed your relationship with Ruby Rose, saying how he suspects she has clouded your better judgment and dulled your business sense. How you 'threw away a flourishing partnership at the whim of a slave', but what ultimately pissed off Father was the fact you willingly put a Faunus in charge of the books – which is probably why your profit margins were off the past few months." Winter recalled.

"Bull. Shit." Weiss fumed, "He threatened me! He extorted me! That's why the books were so skewed the past few months, it wasn't until Ruby was freed that I was able to properly manage the company – _the bastard tried to ruin me_." She was seeing red, "And Velvet… She's brilliant with her numbers and business sense, better than any mathematician, business analyst, or fellow merchant I've ever met! How dare Roman try to belittle her!"

Winter narrowed her eyes, the first bit of what her sister had said caught her attention, "That's not how Father views the situation, from the way he talked about Torchwick he considers the man a close and trusted friend." She looked her younger sister in the eyes, "You said Roman Torchwick threatened and extorted you?" A certain anger began to boil underneath that cool exterior, "Was this happening when I visited?"

"No!" Weiss cried out, "I would have let you know if that was the case… you know I can't hide much from you." She looked over at Ruby who she wore a guilty expression.

"You must tell Father your side of the story then," Winter looked over at Ruby, "Surely he'll see some sense, I told him that you wouldn't make any drastic decisions without have a good reason to… he had some choice words for that."

"Like what?"

"You've lost your damned mind over a slave."

"I'm not a slave." Ruby looked the Commander in the eyes, "I'm a free woman… and that bastard Roman can continue _burning_ in hell, so I don't see how he should be an issue anymore."

Winter raised a brow at the small outburst, the scout definitely had some gall after all, "Anymore? What do you mean by that?"

Weiss looked over at Ruby attentively, the Gladiator never told her what transpired while she and Bolin went to go free Neptune and the others, "Ruby… what happened?" She tried.

Ruby looked down at the table, she had avoided the question before during the voyage to Vale and made it a point that no one should ask again, but now here they were.

"Roman's dead." She put plainly, silver eyes looked into blue ones, but she refused to say more on the subject.

She didn't want to tell her how she tormented and burned another human being alive – even if this human being was scum of the lowest caliber.

"Dead?" Winter repeated, "That's certainly news," The trained gaze of the officer didn't leave the scout, "Did you murder him?"

"Yes."

Weiss went wide-eyed, she had suspected something had to have happened at the Villa, she wasn't daft. Ruby looked up at the younger Schnee's taken back expression.

"I'm sorry you had to hear that." Ruby closed her eyes and then trained her gaze at the tabletop.

The merchant scrunched her face together, "I'm not… upset, not in the slightest… I had some suspicions, but to just hear you say it…"

"That could be considered a war crime for killing an innocent man without trial," Winter let out coolly, both Weiss and Ruby snapped their attention to the Commander. "But, Mistral's affairs are none of my business… and I'm glad to hear that he's gone – especially after what he's done to my sister."

Ruby let out a sigh of relief, "I don't consider him innocent, not in the slightest. Not after everything he's taken from me." Her voice was low.

Weiss felt the tension build, but Winter didn't blink an eye at it, "That aside," She straightened out her back, "What is your _relationship_ with my sister?" Winter looked back and forth between the two in front of her, "Something more than some ' _plaything'_ as Father put."

Ruby swallowed hard, she felt so vulnerable underneath that piercing stare, "I…. I, uh…"

Weiss sighed and then placed a hand over Ruby's to calm down the scout, "I nearly forked over half of the company to keep her safe… or safe as she could have been," She smiled despondently, "She saved my life by helping me get out of Mistral during that long night." Weiss looked over at her older sister, "The first time I saw her, yes, she was a slave, but I realized soon after that she was anything but that. She cares for the people around her, she inspires her comrades, she tries to protect those she can, and above all – she has strength of the highest caliber. More courageous and daring than any storied war hero."

Ruby looked up at Weiss, mesmerized by her words.

"She may not always come out on top, but she keeps trying – Oum she has kept trying despite all the insurmountable odds that had been laid out in front of her. I know she's hurting from it all, but she always puts on a brave front for the sake of everyone around her." Weiss turned her gaze back to those silver eyes, "I love her and I want to be there for her, I want to become someone she can trust and lean on. I want to be someone who can protect her heart."

"Weiss…" Ruby croaked out, she thought she did a good job of trying to hide away her vulnerabilities, but here was Weiss saying that she wants to be there to help protect her.

Winter Schnee leaned back in her chair, a ghost of a smile on her face. She looked over at another older sister in the tavern, Yang Xiao Long smiled back at the elder Schnee because she had caught the whole conversation.

"What do you think?" Yang walked over with Blake at her side, both had an ale in hand.

"She's alright," Winter glanced teasingly at Ruby, "But I am curious to hear about how you came across the revelation that you have a little sister. Qrow never made mentioned of her."

The waiter came out with a tray in hand, their plates were piping hot and the smell of food made their mouths water.

"Ruby can help me tell this story while we eat." Yang smiled down at the woman and then patted a hand on her back, "Think you're up for it?"

"Y-Yeah." Ruby had a sheepish look on her face, Winter wore a much softer expression now, "So… are you familiar with a place called Patch?"

* * *

"James, this is preposterous." Jacques Schnee paced about his quarters in the Valesian castle, the merchant pulled strings in order to be a part of the conference that over sees the outcome of the next step.

Which Jacques Schnee whole-heartedly thought would be to support the new monarchy that has ascended the throne in the madness of the Slave Rebellion – he thought it false that Salem would be accused of regicide. Roman Torchwick (a man he has exchanged many letters with) assured Jacques that despite Weiss' poor short sighted decision, the Schnee Merchant Company would still be held in good standing among him and his peers – which included Salem Fall, who is now the rightful ruler of Mistral.

However, that blasted Valesian King had other words on the matter. The damned Ozpin's words were like poison, it had seeped through the hearts and minds of those that had attended the conference. Sickening those who had listened into the same delusion that this damned King has conjured.

Salem Fall and the nobles in her faction (Roman Torchwick included) had wrongfully usurped the throne and in the madness had killed (or attempted to) off all opposition to her.

The meeting took place as soon as the main party (Jacques took note that his eldest daughter was a _bit late_ in arriving, despite the fact that she had disembarked before anyone else) had disembarked from the ship and congregated into the great halls of the Valesian castle. It lasted well into the night, which was evident with the moon shining bright overhead.

General James Ironwood remained stoic, he agreed to entertain Jacques' notion for a private meeting after the conference had adjourned for the day – the next few days were going to be busy, but from how today's meeting went, it seems that the majority is in agreement.

"Do you know how much commerce goes through Mistral's port? It would strain our commerce." Jacques seethed.

James Ironwood tightly shut his eyes and took a deep breathe, "It's already been agreed upon, the embargo stands on Mistral – Vacuo is on board with it, and I think we need to show a united front against the situation in Mistral." He looked his old acquaintance with steady eyes, "And it would not strain our commerce, _Atlas as a whole_ would be just fine with the decision." James was well aware of how much assets Jacques had tied up with Mistral's commerce, from what he understands the recent slew of business deals and decisions had come from certain urgings of a Mistrali Lord that dealt in the slave trade.

" _Trade embargo?_ " The word stung Jacques' tongue.

"It's done, Jacq – have you even bothered to visit your daughter yet?" Ironwood knew that Commander Winter Schnee had requested the first half of the day to find Weiss. Winter may have hinted that she wanted to catch Weiss before their Father did….

"Ah – yes, my little snowflake." Jacques began to turn red in the face again, "She was trying to ruin the company for her brash actions in Mistral." He was referring to a discerning letter he got from his good friend Roman, "Cut off all ties with House Torchwick _and_ soliciting help from a damn Faunus?" He frothed.

"On second thought, do whatever pleases you, Jacq." The General advised, "We're going to move out a majority of our congregation in weeks time in order to start preparations on our end. I highly suggest that you come back with me on that voyage, your part here is… concluded." He put tactfully.

"Prepare for what?" They had only landed in the kingdom _that very day_ , the journey itself was a four day affair by boat – and the boat ride was none too pleasant since his eldest daughter made no attempt to mask her contempt for Jacques.

"It was after you and those special few nobles stormed out at _King Ozpin's_ suggestion. Perhaps if you had stayed, you could have helped some of the resource issues that had arisen during the rest of the meeting." James replied cooly.

Jacques narrowed his eyes, "Are you saying that a decision has been made? Besides the trade embargo?"

"Yes, and part of it was to send home those who would prove uncooperative in the task." James stared pointedly at Jacques, "I thought you would be able to put your temper aside for the sake of negotiation on Atlas' behalf, but I see now that you're only here for your company's best interest."

"You all need funding and resources!" Jacques huffed his chest, "Who exactly did you think footed the lien for your excursion against Vale merely a year ago?" The Schnee Merchant Company had given a sizable amount of money for the Kingdom in exchange for exclusive trade rights with Mistral – the venture was the main driving cause of sending Weiss over to set up the branch company and oversee the business there.

James huffed, "You heard what Councilman Oobleck said – the country is ran by traitors now, something that is against the Altesian principals that we teach our young men and women." His eyes glowed, "You would rather choose lien over our morals? _Discipline, Honor, Ingenuity, and Loyalty_." The General recited the core values that young privates and officers were told to memorize by heart.

" _I have an empire that needs to stay a float._ " Jacques snapped back.

"And your country?" General Ironwood's voice boomed, "With or without the Schnee Merchant Company's backing – an Altesian company, no less – we will stand steadfast with our new allies."

"They're insolent fools!" Jacques cried back, "How can they hope to reform something that all of Remnant is practically built on?"

"By taking one step at a time," James responded coolly, "And that next step is to gather all of our forces for the counter-offensive to liberate Mistral."

* * *

Qrow Branwen strolled into his usual bar, he spent the morning doing some more light sparring with Yang and Ruby.

Except nothing about it was light.

Ruby still proved to be a ruthless sparring partner, despite the fact that they just used wooden swords for the intent of some exercise and time spent together.

"She was a gladiator, after all." The man muttered, his nieces mentioned something about dinner at Ruby's cottage that night, Qrow said he'd pass on that one – it irked him to watch his nieces be all lovey dovey with their newfound love interests. Qrow was more impressed with how enamored Yang had become to that Blake.

"Heh, should have known I'd run into you here." The stark white Altesian uniform contrasted against the dark and quaint feel of the Crow Bar.

Qrow smirked, "Look what the cat dragged in," He took a seat next to the officer, his eyes caught the new rank that sat on her collar, "Commander now?"

"Yeah, it's still pretty new but I've adjusted to it pretty nicely." Winter smiled and took a sip of the brandy in her cup.

"What brings you here? I saw the ship yesterday, but I never thought I'd run into you." Qrow ordered a brandy for himself, "Let alone at a bar during the day."

"Surely you've heard what's happened in Mistral by now." Winter leaned back in chair, "We're going to war to re-take the Kingdom from the usurper."

"It's barely been a year and there's another war." Qrow downed the whole cup, he motioned for the barkeep for a refill.

"I know." Winter looked down at the polished bar top, "Your King, Ozpin, he's a good man."

"He is, he really care about his people and his friends." Qrow thought back to his time of following under his banner, "That's why he didn't press for much from Atlas after that 5-year war."

"He proposed that we abolish the slavery system every where, not just here in Vale. He made some good points, General Ironwood was on board, but of course _father_ was against it. He tried to fight it." Winter downed her cup.

Qrow motioned for the barkeep to refill hers too, "How that work out?"

"They shut him down, thank Oum." She didn't try to refute the new drink, "He and probably 4 or 5 other nobles stormed out mid-conference, it was agreed that they would be sent home."

"Have you seen your sister yet?" Qrow looked over, "I've seen her a few times in passing… she's cuddled up to my niece now, apparently."

Winter smiled, "Ruby Rose, right?" She looked up at the man.

"You're acquainted with her then?" Qrow knew the answer to his own question, he had seen his nieces together with the Commander, but he didn't feel the need to go through all the motions.

Winter nodded, "She's a good woman, I could almost approve of her being together with my sister."

"Almost?" He raised an eyebrow.

"I swore an oath in my childhood to never approve of anyone that's together with Weiss. It'll keep them on their toes." Winter took a sip of her drink.

"I'm sure you've noticed that she's more than capable of that, she gave me a thorough spar this morning with Yang." Qrow smirked into his own cup.

"How have you been holding up? I can only imagine the shock you went through seeing your niece that was supposed to be… deceased." Winter chose her words carefully, not wanting to offend the man.

Qrow looked up at the tavern's ceiling, "A whirlwind – the good kind." He cracked a grin, red eyes looking over at his companion, "I just wish that… she didn't have to go through all the things she did, Yang's filled me on what's she knows."

The Hunter looked down at the bar top, "Whipped, tortured, nearly maimed, pushed beyond all physical capabilities – and these are the things that Yang has managed to pry from the others that escaped the Torchwick Villa. Ruby… she doesn't want to talk about what's happened, not with Yang at least." Qrow looked on forlornly.

"Your niece, Ruby, she is one of the strongest people I have ever met." Winter Schnee's voice carried delicately, yet underneath was something serious and stern, "I'm privileged and honored to know that such a person loves and is willing to be with Weiss."

"This is why I refuse to fight another war." Qrow let out, "I will not take another young life for something superfluous like land or influence."

"What about freedom and liberation?" Winter asked the old scout.

Qrow Branwen shook his head, "Not even for that, I'm too old for this now, Winter." He thought back on his time in the Army, "And there's nothing guaranteeing that what you're all about to do in Mistral will have any lasting effect."

"You don't know that."

"I don't, but what I do know is that I won't take part in it." Qrow looked out the window, "People tend to forget that Grimm are just as big of an issue as petty land squabbles or plays for fancy titles like _King_ or _Queen."_ A sigh, "We don't know enough about them, why they're here, what fuels their behavior, why the turn to dust when we kill them, or why they're so attracted to strife and conflict."

"Sounds like that should be Remnant's focus after this." Winter mused, the work that the Huntsman did were greatly appreciated throughout the world. All the men and women who volunteer to be a part of such a renowned guild were known to be the fiercest and most talented.

As well as the most compassionate, more often than not the Huntsman refused to take part in any war, instead taking to watch the battlefield and thinning out the Grimm hoards before they became too unmanageable – and potentially dangerous.

"Maybe." Qrow mused, "For now, I'll keep on taking these simple assignments that come along. As for that next step… I have a feeling that the Grimm is a story for another time further away from here."

The pair clinked their cups together and proceeded to down the contents that warmed the back of their throats.

* * *

Bolin Hori looked up at the clear blue sky, he listened to branches crackle in the wind. To his side sat Ruby, dressed in regular tunic and trousers, the two were lounging outside in the courtyard of the Inn that everyone else had still taken refuge in.

"Mrs. Peach offered us jobs, she's got a place for us to stay too." Bolin mentioned.

Ruby nodded, "So Reese and your family should be set?"

"For the most part, Ren and Nora have been extremely helpful – Yang too, I wanna repay her for all the lien she's spent on us since we came here." Bolin took a deep breath.

"She won't except your money, I tried to give her some of my lien I had in the bank here, but she refused." Ruby explained, "And the Army back paid me too, Jaune made sure of that."

Bolin looked down at the ground, "What you said earlier… are you really going to do it?"

"Yeah."

"Neptune and them are probably going to want do it too."

"I figured as much."

"What about Weiss?"

"And Reese?" Ruby shot back, she looked Bolin the eyes, "I know you, Bo."

"I can't let you do anything stupid without me."

"I know." The silver eyed fighter turned her attention to the ground, "I can't walk away from the situation, the other gladiators… the guys from the Villa, they're all still there in Mistral." She took a deep breath, "Cinder and Mercury… I can't walk away without knowing that they've paid for what they've done to us… to Sun, to Nadir, to everyone."

"When are you going to tell everyone else?"

"Soon."

* * *

A/N:

Whew, never thought I'd find the time to get around to writing. So the big decision that I've been mulling around the past few weeks is whether or not I'll do a sequel for Gladiator.

I've decided not to do a sequel because I realized how daunting it would be writing it and that I wouldn't get much joy or fun from writing it. Reaching back to when I first started penning the plot, I had set goals in mind on where I wanted the story to go and what I wanted to focus on - which was a bad ass Ruby fighting for her life as a top notch gladiator. And adventure. And drama. And angst (There was a lot of that). As a writer, I feel like I've reached that initial intent for the story and I would like to move on to other projects.

There will be one more chapter for everyone to look forward to and then there will also be an epilogue to follow. Chapter 23 is still in the process of being re-written, but I've got some down time on the horizon so I'm hopeful that I'll finish writing this story soon.

So future projects...

Don't have a title for the story just yet, but it's going to be a Bumblebee Fic with a mobster and Vegas theme to it. So probably not a whole lot of heroics but there will be lots of guns and excitement... and other illcit things. I'll throw down the appropriate disclaimers and warnings in the first chapter, but I'm pretty excited to try writing a gangster genre.

For those that have noticed, I'm working on an angsty Bumblebee short story called _Our Playlist._ Experimenting with writing a non-linear plot (so think Reservoir Dogs and Memento). It's also serving as a bit of a break in between Gladiator and my up and coming gangster Bumblebee Fic (Current outline has the story at about 18 chapters, still in the process of hammering it out).

Thank you to everyone for your enduring support, I fucking love writing and I love it when I hear from you guys about how much you like the story or how it hits you right in the feels.

See you guys in the next one.

Cheers,

DevilRed


	23. Promise

Blake visibly winced, despite the fact that the door was shut she could still hear the noises coming from the second floor of the Inn where all their rooms were. Weiss and Ruby had taken the liberty to take refuge at the cottage for the past few days but they still made it a point to come visit everyone every day.

Today was a little different, Weiss had gone off on her own errands while Ruby chose to head to the Inn to discuss something important with her sister.

"No!" Yang's voice roared, Blake though it was strange that Ruby asked Bolin to take the guys out to check out where Reese and his mother and sister would be living out of – a quaint home on the second floor of Mrs. Peach's shop in town.

The barkeep exchanged a worried glance with the Faunus, but Blake waved her hand with an apologetic look.

"I have to." Ruby stood defiantly before her fuming sister, she half expected some of the furniture of the room to be broken in half during her rampage.

"You just came home!" Yang emphasized, her eyes flashed dangerously at the proposition.

"Yang," Ruby placed a hand on her sister's shoulder, "I'm not done… not yet."

"You've done enough!"

"No… I can't leave this unfinished." Ruby Rose said with conviction, Yang Xiao Long could see that her younger sister was going to follow through.

"You… You…" The words flying out of Yang's mouth were laced with fury, with every syllable she took a step towards her younger sister. Ruby's battle instinct went on edge as her eyes looked on for anything dangerous.

"Yang…" Ruby warned, she took a few steps back to try and get some space between her sister.

"You – "

A sob choked out.

Yang fell forward, both arms crumpling around Ruby.

"I can't lose you, not again." She choked out, tears streaming down her face and unto Ruby's tunic. "Ruby… I'm not strong enough to go through that again."

"You won't lose me." Two hands held on to her older sister that stood taller than her, clutching to the material of her jacket that smelled like forests ands wild flowers. "I promise, you won't lose me." Her voice cracked and she felt something hot and wet on her cheek.

The scout prayed to Oum that if there were ever a promise to keep, it would be this one.

* * *

Bolin Hori looked out at his family and Reese while they went about getting ready to open up the small food market that Mrs. Peach ran. Nora had done well to put in a good word for his family that was in need of a home and work, the elderly shop keeper was getting up there in years and needed the extra help. Reese Chloris' experience running the flower shop in Mistral translated well into running the business.

His mother looked right at home inside the shop and his little sister Mei seemed a lot livelier now than she did when they first made landfall in Vale. He smiled to himself while he watched Reese interact with Mrs. Peach, going over the stock and books for that day.

There was a balcony on the second floor that overlooked the shop on the first floor of the building. Bolin was giving the guys and Octavia a tour of the place while Ruby was having (what he imagined) a difficult conversation with her sister.

The same conversation he was going to have with his family later in the day.

"I'm going with you." Neptune looked down at the Hori family while leaning against the railing.

"Same." Sage piped in.

"I'm in too." Scarlet nodded, "As an old pirate, it'll be interesting to sail under a proper banner."

"I figured as much." Bolin smiled at the guys, "Ruby and I are going to talk to Pyrrha and Jaune after she finishes breaking the news to Yang."

"Have you told Reese?" Octavia questioned, she looked up from where she stood which was at Bolin's side.

Bolin looked back down at the woman in question, "Not yet."

"I'll help watch over your family." The medic offered.

"You don't have to," He was genuinely surprised that Octavia would go to such lengths, "I don't want to tie you down to anything."

"You won't." Octavia smiled at her friend, "It'll be just until you come back."

Bolin closed his eyes and took a deep breath, a tear threatened to fall, "Thank you… thank you, so much."

* * *

James Ironwood barreled down Jacques Schnee before he could do the unthinkable.

Which was to lay hands on his daughter.

It was by chance that the General had stumbled upon what was supposed to be a private conversation between the two Schnee's. However, the aggravated yelling and the sound of furniture being thrown over caused the General to enter Jacques' private quarters at the castle.

"Get off me!" Jacques roared, anger in his eyes.

"What are you doing?!" James seethed back at the man, "We are in _Vale's castle_ and you're about to assault your own daughter?"

"She is no longer my daughter." Jacques shot a look at his once youngest daughter, "Not unless she takes back that insolent statement she even dared to utter in my presence."

"I will not." Weiss held firm, her hands slightly shaking and her cheek was sore from the first slap on the face she received earlier.

"You're a damned fool!" Jacques seethed; James refused to let up the grip on the businessman.

"You're a fool for taking the side of a fucking fiend over your own daughter!"

"Did you hit your head? You're willing to cut such valuable ties for your dyke fantasies?"

"Jacq!" James pressed his hands harder into the smaller man, "You did not!"

Weiss strode over to the two men, she motioned for James to let go of the man.

Only for the former Schnee to plant a well aimed knee into Jacques' stomach. The businessman doubled-over while James looked on with a hint of a smirk on his face.

"I will not let you tell me how to live my life, what I should or should not do, nor who I should love." Weiss leaned over to the man's ear to ensure that he got the message loud and clear, "And I will most certainly not stand by and let you insult the love of my life like that."

"You're an insolent idiot. I should have never sent you to Mistral." The Schnee patriarch looked up at Weiss, "Don't even think about using the Schnee name for a damn thing."

"I want nothing to do with this damned name, or with you. Not any more."

Without another word, Weiss stood tall. She glanced over at General Ironwood and then left her father's quarters.

She didn't even walk ten feet before she caught sight of Winter, the Commander had heard the commotion and was briskly making her way to the source of the issue. Winter had managed to catch the tail of the altercation and chose to wait it out since General Ironwood was more than capable to handle her father.

Winter didn't say a word as she caught Weiss easily into her arms.

Despite how rarely it ever happens, it always killed Winter on the inside to watch her sister cry.

* * *

"You're gonna go with her?" Qrow asked, it was just the two of them at the bar.

Yang slammed her ale, "She's so fucking stubborn… but I can't leave her alone."

"What about Blake?"

"Blake already made up her mind to go when Ruby said she was going."

Qrow sighed, "Stay safe."

* * *

"Is… is this what you're sure you want?" Jaune stood tall before the Corporal.

"Yes, sir." Ruby Rose was dressed smartly in her Valesian uniform, Bolin wore simple trousers and a tunic in good repair while he stood off to the side.

"I'm assuming this is what you're here for as well?" Pyrrha looked at the seasoned fighter.

"Yes, myself and a few other wish to formally enlist into Mistral's ranks." Bolin nodded his head.

Pyrrha smiled, "We don't have much forces here, but I won't say no to good help."

Jaune crossed his arms, his eyes rested on the rank that signified Ruby's status as a Corporal. "We'll have to fix something about that." He motioned to the insignia.

"What do you mean?" Ruby asked.

"I'm going to request that you be promoted."

* * *

"Does he know?" Octavia looked over at the men in the corner of the tavern. Their energy was infectious – they had purpose with a sword once more. The three toasted and drank their ale while the two women sat a part at different table. A look from Octavia was all it took to have Neptune and them give them space.

Reese drank her water, "No – not yet." She was still processing the conversation Bolin had just had with her that morning before he left with Ruby to go to the castle.

"I told him that I'm going to stick around with you and his family while he's gone." Octavia placed a gentle hand on her shoulder.

"Thank you, Octavia." Reese smiled forlornly.

"When will you tell him?"

"When the time's right." Reese looked over at the guys in the corner drinking, "He needs to focus on getting ready."

"I'm sorry – "

"Don't be sorry." Reese interjected, "I've stood by him while he was a slave – I can stand by him as a free man."

* * *

Weiss was already at the cottage by the time Ruby came back that evening.

"He disowned me." Weiss wasn't quite hysterical, just more in shock.

"He's a snake if he's willing to side with Roman…" Ruby reached out to touch Weiss' arm. "Whose not even around anymore." This perked up Weiss a little bit.

Deep blue looked into steel, "What's this I hear about you going to war?"

Ruby clenched her jaw, "Did Yang tell you?"

"She wants me to talk you out of it."

"Are you?"

Weiss leaned in to catch those soft lips on her own, "No."

Ruby could see the melancholy in her gaze, with a gentle hand she catches her cheek, "I'll come back."

"Don't make promises you can't keep."

"I will come back to you."

Weiss closed her eyes and leaned her forehead onto Ruby's. She was out of tears and her body too exhausted to even think about crying again.

Instead, she just wanted to feel this moment with Ruby while she rubbed her hand affectionately on her back. Memorizing the way her fingertips pushed into the lower part of her spine, how the scout's breath felt against her cheek.

"Weiss… You're my whole world, I promise that I will come back to you – no matter what it takes."

"I'll hold you to it, dolt."

* * *

"You're drunk." Blake deadpanned, the moonlight shone brightly through the window of their shared room.

Yang stumbled to her bed, "I'm going to war." She hunched over and proceeded to stare off into the distance, her mind in a haze after her binge with Qrow.

Blake stood and made way to where the Huntress sat, "You don't have to go, you can – "

Yang cut her off with a rant, "I refuse to sit still while my sister _willingly_ goes back to that Oum forsaken – "

Blake leaned forward and planted a chaste kiss, "Get some sleep." She figured the blond had ranted enough about the situation today.

Yang slumped over, face red, "I'll make damned sure she comes back." Her lip burning with the sensation of having Blake's pressed against it.

The Faunus refused to leave the woman alone; instead she chose to curl up next to the inebriated Huntress – allowing Yang to nuzzle up into her side, her face damp with a few tears.

"I'll make sure we all come back." She wrapped her arms around Blake a little tighter, "Why are you going?" Her voice barely above a whisper, but Blake's sensitive ears still picked up the question.

"Because it would feel wrong to stay back and watch Ruby fix something that I technically broke."

"It wasn't your fault." Yang murmured into Blake's shoulder, her nose gently caressing the exposed skin there.

"Not completely, but I was a part of it." A tentative hand ran through the blond mane that was sprawled out next to her, "Like Ruby said, I'm not done yet."

"Oum, I can't leave either of you alone." She looked up at Blake.

Despite how dark it was, Blake could clearly see those shining and beautiful eyes that were slightly red from all the tears. She arched down to plant yet another kiss on the Huntress' lips, she felt magnetized by the pull of those bright eyes. Before the Faunus could pull away, Yang snaked an arm around her neck to keep their positions in place.

Carefully, the Huntress leaned over the Faunus until she had both of her arms on either side of the woman. Yang had been careful about pushing Blake into this position before tonight - she didn't want to scare her away. However, the look that Blake was giving Yang was anything but fear.

It was trust, it was faith, it was...

"...Love..." Blake's raspy voice echoed lightly through out the empty room.

Yang remained silent, she knew what she had heard from the woman beneath her.

"Do you?" Yang asked, her mind completely sober.

"I'm not sure." Blake confessed, she locked her arms around Yang to keep her in place, "But I want to find out...together, with you." She pulled the Huntress closer.

Yang closed the distance, burying her senses in the lavender smell and the electrifying feel of Blake's skin against her own.

Together, the two made love for the first time.

* * *

A man dressed in elegant armor and a flowing forest green cape looked out at the open balcony. The sword in hand he received as a young man from a good friend who was now the King of Vacuo.

King Ozpin stepped out into the morning sunlight, the regiments of troops lined neatly down below in the castle courtyard. The Kingdom's finest officers lined the front with swords out and used them to salute to him. Wise eyes looked over the faces of the young men and woman.

One in particular stood out to him (possibly due to the ornate wolf plate that she bore on her chest) – the face of Captain Ruby Rose, former slave and gladiator now turned officer of the 127th Brigade and personally took command of the 3rd Battalion that was composed entirely of scouts and light cavalry. Ozpin considered their role as one of the most vital in his army, they were tasked the treacherous mission of forging ahead and returning with timely and accurate information so that the Commanders and Generals could formulate a strategy.

A job that has proven time and time again to be extremely lethal.

"It is with a heavy heart that I call upon you once more to offer your services – no." Ozpin's gaze lingered on Commander Jaune Arc, the Shield of Vale. "I ask each and every one of you to lay down your lives not for this Kingdom, but for Remnant itself." He took a deep breath, "So I would understand, whole heartedly, if you choose not to."

A slight gasp erupted from the line of troops.

"I will not hold it against you if you choose to do so, and as your King, I promise you that there will be no reprimands for those that choose not to march once more to the shores of our enemy." Ozpin paused.

For a few moments all was still – then the first stepped out of line.

An officer in line yelled out, but a look from Ozpin told him otherwise.

It was like watching a flock of sheep, one by one, then two by two, and then whole rows left the courtyard to stand off the side. Even a Commander walked off leaving an entire Brigade in shock.

Ozpin did a quick sweep of those who remained; only two-thirds persisted of the original amount.

"Generals and Commanders, as your King I order you to not reprimand nor ostracize those who have chosen not to go to Mistral. I remind you that each of you have volunteered, and each of you have already fulfilled your commitment to Vale and to it's people with the war that had just recently passed." Ozpin's voice swept through the courtyard, "Life is precious, do not blame those that have chosen it, because some times it is harder to uphold life more than anything else."

A slight murmur.

"Those of you that are left in the files and ranks – I am proud to not only serve as your King, but as a fellow comrade-in-arms for this fight." Ozpin raised his sword, "We fight, not for ourselves, not for our country, but for everyone!" Like a rolling thunder in the distance, the King's voice began swelling throughout, "We fight for freedom! For equality – and not just for ourselves as humans, but for our fellow brother and sisters who are Faunus!"

The crowd before him began to rile.

"We will sail across the ocean and fight for the justice of our slain compatriots in Mistral! To right the regicide that the usurper Salem has brought upon the Kingdom of Mistral and to liberate the oppressed citizens!" Ozpin's gaze was hard as stone, "I ask of you all now, standing before me, you – the best and brightest that Vale has to offer!" The Valesian King closed his eyes, took another deep breath, and opened them with such a steel resolve.

" **Will you fight with me for Remnant?!"**

Ruby Rose drew her sword made out of the finest Valesian steel, she thrust the pommel high overhead, "Aye!" She roared, the dark wolf armor gleamed in the morning light.

Yang Xiao Long, dressed in a Valesian uniform, unhooked her great sword – the men around her went wide eye at the sight of her waving the sword overhead, "Aye!"

Blake Belladonna smiled at the two sisters, glad that the Valesian Army let everyone stay together under the Gladiator's command, "Aye!" She yelled.

The courtyard exploded in roars and shouts.

Ozpin smiled down at his men.

"For Remnant!"

* * *

Reese Chloris was amazed at the amount of warships that lined Vale's dock, Atlas had done well to supply the Kingdom with ships. A chorus of farewells echoed off from down the pier, a ship filled with troops leaned over the side of the vessel to wave to their loved ones.

"Impressive, isn't it?" Bolin stepped next to her, the golden chest piece gleamed in the sunlight, the ornate dragon was well polished and accented well with the Mistrali red cloak he wore to represent his country. The get up turned a few heads, but everyone relaxed when they saw who it was.

Bolin Hori had made a name of himself even here in Vale as a talented swordsman that the Valesian guard was more than happy to have within their ranks.

"Check in with your Captain yet?" Reese teased.

"Ruby isn't a stuck up officer, not like some of these other kids." Bolin was referring to the young lieutenants who thought they knew it all, "Commander Port has given her a lecture already about how she needs to act, but I think she'll be fine – the whole Battalion look up to her."

"They're not the only ones." Reese smiled at her lover, "How long do you think this will be?"

Bolin shrugged, "Some of the guys are buzzing that it'll be quick because it's literally all of Remnant and then Salem's bunch, but I wouldn't write them off completely – Mistral does have a reputation to be fierce."

"Just like you." She mused.

"That I am." Bolin leaned down and planted a kiss on her forehead, "I'm sorry that –"

"Don't be sorry," Reese cut him off quickly, "I'm not sorry, not at all, because this… this is a part of you. That's what I've come to learn about you ever since you earned your freedom."

Bolin remained silent.

"You became a Gladiator, a strong warrior who cares for his comrades and has an impeccable winning streak." A slight smile, "I understand that this is a fight you need to finish – that you, Ruby, Neptune, Sage, and Scarlet need to finish. And you're doing it for them – for Sun and Nadir."

"I'm glad you understand." A tear slid down his cheek, "I can't stand by while this mess isn't cleaned up… and I refuse to let others clean it up, either. Despite all the hardships and shit that's happened, Mistral's my home."

"Our home." Reese smiled gently at him, "Go get our home back." She bit her lip, Bolin tilted his head once he sensed her apprehension.

"What is it?"

Reese Chloris smiled brightly, "Go get our home back… for our family."

"Our family?" Bolin looked down and saw her hand hanging protectively over her stomach, "Our family." He repeated.

"Yes, our family." Reese leaned into him, resting her head on top of his chest piece, "I'm pregnant Bo." Her tone was gentle, "Octavia helped me confirm it."

"You're pregnant." He sank to his knees, two hands place gently on either side of her abdomen, "With our child." His voice cracked.

"I have a name in mind."

"Already?" Bolin looked up in surprise, his eyes glistening with delight.

Reese nodded, she leaned her head down to whisper the name she had in mind.

Bolin Hori picked up Reese Chloris and spun her around in glee.

He could not think of a better name.

* * *

Ruby Rose, Captain of 3rd Battalion.

It had a ring to it.

"You do look fetching in your Valesian get up, though that armor hints a little bit to Mistral." Weiss smiled at her lover, the two got away from the docks to be alone somewhere on a pier. Ruby leaned against the wooden railing while Weiss found a place right next to her while clutching on to the Captain's arm.

Ruby Rose got order that her people would move out that evening. She was grateful that Yang and everyone got placed under her command (she suspected Jaune and Pyrrha organized that), the 3rd Battalion was going to have a lot of talent and fire power in their ranks.

"Told you I turn heads." She looked down at the wolf head armor that had various nicks and dings to it now. It matched the various scars that decorated her entire body, the men she commanded could see the stories that each told. Ruby was a walking tapestry of strength, courage, and resiliency. "Are you sure you're going to stay here? You can go to Atlas…"

"There's nothing there for me anymore, and Winter's even fighting along with you guys so I have no where to stay." Weiss was referring to how she was disowned from the Schnee name, Winter mentioned in a letter that Whitley was being groomed to help run the Schnee Merchant Company. "And besides, someone has to watch your cottage as well as Ren and Nora's while you're all gone."

"I'm sorry."

"Don't be, if I had to choose you again, then I would – as much as it takes to show you that I love you."

"I love you too." Ruby let out, she couldn't say the phrase enough to truly show how she felt about Weiss.

"Oum, it's crazy where we are now." Weiss looked about the port. "I met you almost a year ago now."

Ruby chuckled, "In the Coliseum? After I cut down all your fighters?"

"That was something my Father… insisted on, he wanted the fastest way to the elite's inner circle. Which happened to be having a good gladiator under your belt." Weiss thought back to the first time she saw the bloody sport. "But not that… I meant at the party where you fought Neptune."

The old fighter smiled at the memory, "When I saw you clearly for the first time, I could have sworn eternity passed before I remembered how to breathe again."

"When I watched you get whipped… I wanted nothing more than to yell out for it to stop. I was so angry and frustrated and if Pyrrha wasn't there I think I would have ran out there to shield you myself." Weiss was thinking back on all those hard times, "And when I saw you for the first time still standing before me despite all those bandages, I have never felt such relief."

"And then we slept together for the first time after that." Ruby wrapped an arm around Weiss, "Before you… I detested sex. It was another weapon for me to hold and wield at the command of that monster… but with you, it didn't feel like that all."

The Captain dipped her head, closed her eyes, and then leaned closer. Weiss closed hat her eyes in anticipation, she could feel Ruby's warm breath fan against her lips.

She felt warm from the inside out once she felt that caressing touch.

Ruby parted and then rested her forehead into the side of Weiss' head, her lips a mere inch from her lover's ear, "You were my first time that I truly enjoyed."

Weiss smiled at the words that were whispered for only her to hear, "You are my best." She turned her head slightly in order to taste Ruby once more.

Her lover tasted like sweet sap, wild roses, and a fresh forest. Something she found so much more addicting than sweet wine.

"You make me better, Ruby Rose, in more ways than one." Weiss confessed.

"You're my whole world, I truly meant it when I said it the first time." Ruby replied.

Weiss thumbed at the small burlap sack in her hands, she kept it out of sight until now.

Ruby took note of it, she didn't even realize that Weiss was holding it the whole time.

"What's that?"

Weiss Schnee looked up tentatively at Ruby Rose.

"Another promise."

Gently, Weiss untangled her self from Ruby's side. Her gaze remained steady on the Captain while she carefully went down on bended knee.

"Marry me, Ruby Rose."

The pier shook from the sudden collapse of Ruby's weight falling to the floor, she haphazardly threw both of her arms around Weiss and held on to her as if Oum demanded it.

"I will." She murmured, her voice nearly gone from the shock of it all.

Weiss pulled away slightly, she pressed her lips against the Captain's cheek before leaning in closer to her ear, "I want to take your last name." The whisper rang through like a bell to Ruby Rose.

"You can." Ruby looked down at the ring, she picked it up and held it up to the sun – it was a simple gold band, but the scout thought it to be the most precious gem in the world.

Weiss plucked the band out of her hands and placed it on her left hand.

"Weiss Rose… I promise I'll find you a ring that's just as beautiful as you when I come home." The Captain proclaimed, the way _her last name_ sounded with Weiss' name…

It was poetry.

It was hope.

It was their future.

"Oum, I love you." Ruby whispered.

"And I love you." Weiss replied. "Now go, win this fight and come back home to me."

"I promise."

The sea breeze was uplifting and gentle; the sail's that bore Vale's emblem was caught ever so slightly in the gust. The creak of wooden ships and water splashing about the docks and piers echoed lightly through out the bay. A few clouds decorate the fine blue skies over head and the sounds of children excitedly rushing about the port could be heard.

But, through it all, the tides of war rumbled faintly underneath.

* * *

A/N:

And that's a wrap for the proper story. There will be an epilogue posted soon, I finished writing it today and I'm going to hold on to it for a few more days to put the finishing touches.

It's a weird feeling to see Gladiator at the finish line, for me it's a sense of relief and sadness all mixed together. Like I just left behind a piece of myself on a shelf somewhere, I can always come back to it, but it's never going to be quite the same as carrying it around with me. This story has been an absolute journey to write with how complex the plot was and how arduous I made the adventure.

Despite the fact that our heroes are going to war, it seems like a pretty happy ending to me.

I'll see you guys in the epilogue, I have some parting words for all of you that have made it with me on this journey.

Cheers and Thank You,

DevilRed


	24. Epilogue: 7 Years Later

"There we were, at the Mistrali castle door – the Usurper's army was no match for the combined offensive of all three kingdoms."

A pair of brown and green eyes sat in silence, completely absorbed in the story; bedtime was usually a tiring affair because it was so hard to completely calm the two young children. What usually worked was the promise of a bedtime story.

Told by their father Bolin Hori.

Mei Hori, despite her constant proclamations of how she's an adult now (she was 16 now for Oum's sake, so she could date who ever she wanted without having her big brother breathing down her neck) sat next to Bolin – she would never out grow these stories. Her eyes looked over her brother, dressed in a short sleeve tunic and loose breeches; various scars decorated his arms that served as enough evidence for the stories he told.

"The Mistrali Commander –"

"Councilman Pyrrha Nikos!" The 7-year old, Sunny Hori, shouted it out as her green eyes were brimming with excitement and her long black hair swaying along with her thrilled motions.

"She was the Commander then, those Mistrali soldiers and people who were still loyal to the slain King Lionheart fell under her banner when we marched on the Kingdom. It was a sight to see – the Commander had no formal army when we first landed, but by the time we broke through the city walls she had legions of men and women fall in rank under her." Bolin's voice was steady; his eldest daughter proved to be extremely intelligent since she often retained these fine details. "Commander Nikos spearheaded the charge, backing her up was the Shield of Vale himself, Jaune Arc."

Mei nodded her head, she smiled to herself when she saw how captivated the two children were in the story.

"The man who never leaves a comrade behind!" Sunny enjoyed the tales of the Valesian Commander that emphasized the compassion he held for his troops and allies.

"What about the fighting? You fought all the bad guys, right father?" The younger of the two children looked up, he had brown eyes like his father, but the green hair was definitely a trademark of his mother, Reese Chloris.

Bolin chuckled, "There was a lot of it – I was there on the front line fighting enemies left and right. The slaves that we rescued fell into our ranks and helped us fight back against their cruel masters." A slight distant look could be seen on Bolin's face, but only Mei caught a hint of that, "We broke through the doors and stormed the halls, a man tried to flank me while I was trying to save another from an enemy's blade." He pointed to a long jagged scar on his arm, "That's where I got this one from."

Nadir Hori went wide eye and reached his hand out to touch it, "Cool…" He was mesmerized that his _own father_ was so strong, the marred skin felt like a precious gem to the young boy. He wanted his own marks of glory to carry around and be looked upon with such awe just like his father.

"The fighting was long and hard, before anyone knew it – night had fallen, but the battle still continued. The men were tired, but we still persevered. At the helm of the final push to storm the throne room were myself and Captain Ruby Rose."

"Ruby – the Reaper!" Sunny jumped up on the bed, excitedly trying to take up a fighting pose. Bolin spared no stories about his time in the Arena.

Of course, the old Gladiator spared the more… mature details.

Young Nadir's face lit up at the mention of Ruby's namesake, the boy had a question – but the anticipation to hear the end of his father's story made him wait.

"What's wrong Nadir?" Bolin didn't miss the curious look on his son's face.

"It's just, you always tell stories about you and Ruby in the Arena, but what about our namesakes?" Nadir asked the innocent question.

Sunny nodded her head, "Yeah! You only ever tell us that they were famous Gladiators and your best friends!" Her hair shook like a lion's mane while her body jumped up and down on the bedding, "Even my friend's parents recognize mine and Nadir's names! They always say that it's a sign we will be strong one day!"

Nadir ran a hand through his hair in an attempt to push up the green bangs that had fallen into his eyes, "Yeah, some times the adults will call me 'Little Wilding'." There was a slightly annoyed look.

Bolin rubbed his chin, a slight smile on his face, "Is that right, Little Wilding?"

"Just like that!" Nadir cried out.

Mei giggled at the exchange, "Perhaps that can be a story for another night, like tomorrow?" She looked to her brother, "You don't have to go back to the castle for a while, right?"

"Yeah, I have the next week off since we managed to get through the pertinent things." He rubbed the bridge of his nose; he didn't realize how busy or stressful his new position could get.

"Will it be about Sun? The Monkey King?!" Sunny asked with such glee.

Nadir pouted, his sister usually got her way. Bolin didn't miss it.

"It'll be about both Sun and Nadir – a rather famous match that the two fought together in." Bolin let out.

A rather large yawn was let out from his youngest child. Nadir rubbed his eyes sleepily.

"Looks like it's time for bed then." Bolin moved to pick up his son to tuck him in.

"But father!" Sunny exclaimed, "You didn't finish the story."

"Yeah." Another yawn from his son, "I want to hear the end, what happened in the throne room?" Nadir moved away from his father's prying hands.

An exasperated sigh, "Alright, but Nadir has to be tucked in. Sunny, stop jumping up and down on the bedding."

His eldest daughter nodded in affirmation.

"As soon as we broke down the doors, the grey haired Fall champion that went by the name of Mercury immediately met us…"

Bolin's voice echoed out in the Villa's hallways.

Soon a soft snoring could be heard coming from Nadir's room and a smiling Bolin would come walking out with a sleeping Sunny cradled in his arms.

"What?" Bolin looked down at the perplexed look on his sister's face while the two gently padded into his daughter's room.

"It's just, this is still surreal to me from time to time." Mei stood and watched her brother tuck in her niece.

"Surreal?" Bolin planted a soft kiss on his daughter's forehead, "Night, Sunny."

"Good night, father." The young girl responded.

The two left the room, taking their time walking down the hall. The Hori Villa was decorated in warm greens and cool red tones; it reminded Mei of her family's short years in Vale.

The Hori family moved back to Mistral after all was said and done.

"I think I know what you mean by surreal, a lot has happened." Bolin smiled, he unexpectedly felt a kiss being planted on his cheek.

"Thank you, Bo. For everything." Mei smiled gently at her brother.

Bolin wrapped his arms around his sister, "I would do anything for my family, you know that."

"I know, mother knows it too." Mei smiled in the embrace, "So… are you going to finish telling that story? I mean the whole story… I know that House Fall – Mercury especially – was a rather… personal matter for you." His teenage sister had learned more about Bolin's time as a slave just that year.

The elder brother smiled knowingly at his sister, "Let me kiss Reese good night, we can talk some more in the foyer down stairs." '

"I'll put some tea on." Mei smiled and turned heel to the down stairs area.

Bolin entered his main bedchamber to his wife already lying down in the soft sheets.

"You're a busy man this evening." Reese teased as she yawned softly.

"Doesn't help that I've been away for the past few days at the Castle." Bolin smiled sheepishly.

"That's what happens when you get elected to be the _Councilman of the People_." She pushed herself up to plant a kiss on her husband's nose, "What story was it tonight?"

"Didn't get to finish because the two firecrackers fell asleep," A slight frown, "I was telling them about us taking the Castle."

"Sunny is going to be begging you to finish that tomorrow." Reese laughed lightly.

Bolin chuckled, "Mei wants to hear the rest of it."

"Are you going to tell her the _whole_ story?" Reese knew that Bolin left out a lot details whenever he told his stories – Oum, when Mei was finally old enough to understand the world better she started to ask Bolin those questions about the _finer details_ he left out when she was younger.

"Yeah, I think I will." Bolin thought back to that battle.

"You okay?" Reese recognized that look on her husband's face, a gentle hand reached out to caress his cheek.

"Just thinking, I promise I'm fine." Bolin managed a smile, "I'm going to go tell Mei the rest of this story."

"You do that, I'll be here." Reese smiled. A soft kiss was exchanged and Bolin went down stairs to talk to his precious younger sister.

To finish the tale of what the historians of Remnant called the War of Liberation.

 **How he and Ruby had slain the entirety of House Fall – what they started within the walls of Torchwick Villa was finally put to rest in the halls of the Mistrali Castle.**

With that, a new era of peace rang over the entirety of Remnant.

* * *

Long red hair blew gently in the Mistrali evening wind, by her side was a retired Valesian Commander.

And on his hand gleamed a gold wedding band.

"How's it been at the castle?" Jaune asked his wife.

"Busy, despite all that we try to push for, there's still an issue with discrimination against Faunus and even former slaves." Pyrrha rubbed her temples, "We've been discussing the best ways to try and stomp it out. King Oobleck had some great suggestions, but Bolin pointed out that they were all for naught if no one upheld them – he suggested some stringent consequences… and then Velvet, of all people, complained that they were too harsh to implement on those who are responsible for the discrimination." She smiled.

The Councilman of the King held a great deal of respect for everyone on the Council.

Bolin Hori, old Gladiator turned Councilman of the People.

Velvet Scarlatina, former business partner to Weiss Schnee and the deceased Coco Adel, proved to be no pushover. She knew her way around complex algorithms and even scientific theories, after the war the Faunus threw herself into these studies and eventually being elected as the representative for the Councilman of Scholars.

King Bartholomew Oobleck was pleased with his Council as well, a fine balance of perspectives and ideas to help run the Kingdom.

"Sounds like you could use tomorrow as a day off." Jaune placed a tender kiss on her exposed shoulder.

"How have you been?" Pyrrha placed her arms around the famed Shield of Vale.

"I've been good, we've got a new batch of recruits coming through the City Guard and I've been personally over seeing their training this time around." Jaune Arc left Vale to follow Pyrrha to her home, together with everyone he helped in the efforts to re-build the Kingdom as a major powerhouse and center of the Remnant trade.

It's been difficult, but extremely rewarding to see the city get back on it's feet.

"I'm sure those recruits were in awe to see Commander Jaune Arc himself." Pyrrha smiled at the thought, "How many asked for a spar?"

Jaune smirked, "All of them."

"Who did you fight?" It was customary to allow the new recruits to try their (practice) blade at the more seasoned members of the City Guard.

"All of them."

"Someone's been having fun, explains some of the bruises." Pyrrha touched the greenish bruise, Jaune winced slightly.

"Had to show them what us Valesians are made of." He joked.

"You're made of the best that Remnant has to offer."

"I could say the same about you."

* * *

A messenger trotted along the dirt path towards the Forever Fall forest, not too many citizens lived this far from the epicenter of town because of how far of a walk it would be to get to the markets.

Although a good handful did enjoy living out here.

Up ahead in the distance, he spotted one of the destinations he had to deliver some mail to. The messenger knew the place well because letters and other parcels were often delivered to these parts, in fact, he was the dedicated messenger to these parts because he knew the area like the back of his hand now. The other messengers at the post office often had trouble trying to navigate and differentiate the homes in the area.

"Ren!" The young messenger called.

"Oscar! How's it going?" Ren walked up to the young boy, he was tending to the vegetable garden he had growing out front.

"Just another day, you guys have a few letters." Oscar got off his mare; he reached into the pack that was strapped onto his saddle.

"Bolin and Pyrrha?" He asked while the boy had pulled out a few lett

"The Shield of Vale too." Oscar hummed happily.

Ren looked the letters over, "We'll have to write back to them soon, it's been so long since we've seen them."

"Can't believe you guys are personal friends with them, I even hear stories about the Shield of Vale of the Champion of Mistral from random strangers." Oscar mused.

"We're all just people at the end of the day." Ren smiled at the young boy, "How's everything else going? Yang mentioned that you were talking about becoming a Huntsman."

Oscar was a bit shocked, "She told you?"

"Was it supposed to be a secret?" Ren cocked his head.

"N-No… I just haven't told my parents yet." The young messenger looked off to the side, "Plus my sword play isn't that great."

"We all weren't master swordsman in the beginning, just takes some practice." Ren rubbed his chin, "I could give you some lessons, if you'd like. I'm sure Yang wouldn't mind either."

Oscar beamed, "D-Do you think I could wield something like Yang's great sword?" The slab of metal was legendary.

Ren chuckled, "Maybe one day, just need to do a lot of training."

"Alright, tell Nora I said hey, I gotta finish up these deliveries and head back to the post office." Oscar mounted his mare.

"I will, she's in town with Blake and Weiss right now, so you might see her when you head back. She's probably hanging out around the Valesian Vault." Ren referred to the bank that Weiss managed in town, the former Schnee merchant wasted no time finding her niche in the Kingdom.

After the War of Liberation, Ren and Nora decided to leave the Army. With some help from their friends, they rebuilt the cottage to have a solid roof and an updated structure. In place of the old cottage now stood a solid two-story farmhouse and they adored their new home.

Nora picked up a job helping out at the orphanages while Ren took up work with the local butcher, something everyone enjoyed since he made it a thing to make his signature roast every week.

It was a peaceful life.

Down the road, Yang Xiao Long sat out in front of a farmhouse that looked similar to Ren and Nora's – albeit this one a bit more bigger because it had to accommodate more people. The Huntress hummed a song as she leaned back against the great tree in front, enjoying the warm weather and drinking the lemonade that Blake had made earlier that morning. She was unwinding after taking a Hunt in a nearby village. It was an easy mission, clean up a herd of Creep – it only took a week to finish and she was able to come back home quickly.

The days had gone by where she would take long and daunting Hunts to take out the bigger Grimm, where she would blow in to random towns to stay a few nights and then leave on a whim. Qrow had even taken up a permanent residence in Vale – he took up a job at a blacksmith of all places while he wasn't out on a hunt.

But Yang figured it wasn't that surprising, since he made that crazy war scythe of his himself.

"Yang!" Oscar Pine called out from his mare, "Why'd you tell everyone that I wanna be a Huntsman?" The young messenger complained.

"I didn't realize it was a secret." The Huntress stood up from where she lay, "I only just told my friends over dinner, I didn't mean any harm by it."

"I know you don't…" Oscar sighed, "I just haven't exactly told my parents that, they're kind of just expecting me to work the post office job."

"It's safe and it keeps you close to home, can you blame them?" Yang pointed out, "I take it that you just dropped off mail at Ren and Nora's?"

Oscar nodded, "Yeah, I've got mail for you guys too." He got off his mare and began fishing around, a rather large stack of letters was produced from his pack, "You guys sure are popular."

"We've just got a lot of chatty friends." Yang took note of the stack, at the very top was a letter from three rag tag former gladiators. Neptune, Sage, and Scarlet had taken up the mantle of Hunters after the war. It looked like the three had finally made their way down to Menagerie for a big hunt.

"Oh yeah!" Oscar snapped his fingers, "Ren said that he would teach me swordplay… and maybe you would too."

"Oh?" Yang cocked an eyebrow, "You wanna learn how to wield a great sword, kid?"

Oscar pointed the tips of his fingers together, suddenly shy, "Maybe…"

Yang grinned, "When I'm not on Hunts I help train the City Guard." She crossed her arms, "You busy tomorrow morning? I'll be down there if you want to come by."

"I would love that!" Oscar answered excitedly, "I'll leave you to it then, Yang. I gotta finish these deliveries."

"I'll see you then!" Yang called out.

She headed inside her home to put the letters down on the table in the living room. The upstairs was where all the bedrooms were located and the dining area was big enough to sit at least a dozen people, something that was needed since they often had dinner with everyone.

Yang glanced up at the mantle of the fireplace – on display was the all to familiar chest piece that belonged to her younger sister. The wolf head hadn't seen a lick of combat since the war ended.

She smiled sadly at the memory. For a moment she looked up and simply stared at the chest piece while she went over her memories of the war. Yang understood now why Qrow never wanted to fight in another one ever again.

"Ruby…" Yang murmured with her arms crossed.

* * *

Weiss finished up the last of the paperwork, Nora and Blake were waiting for her outside so that the three could walk back home together.

"I'm leaving now, Klein. I'll see you tomorrow." She waved to the man.

"I'll see you in the morning then, Weiss." The former manservant waved her off, he would take care of closing the Valesian Vault, which was the name of the Kingdom's bank. Klein Sieben had settled in very nicely into the serene lifestyle that Vale held.

"Hey Klein!" Nora called from the entrance of the bank, the docile man waved to her and then went about his business – there were a few customers hoping to conduct some transactions before the day ended.

"Were you waiting long?" Weiss asked her friends as she came out the door.

Blake shook her head, "Not really, I actually got out a little late from the book store, got a new shipment of books pretty late in the day and Tukson wanted to stock it before tomorrow."

"I hung out at the book store for a bit, Ren's started gardening more and I figured I'd pick up a book for him." Nora held up the gardening book, "Pretty busy today?"

Weiss shrugged, "Just like any other day, I just wanted to start closing out some of the book keeping for the day so that Klein isn't here too late."

"Hard to believe that he's married to Mrs. Peach – errr, Mrs. Sieben now." Nora corrected herself.

"I didn't realize that she's been a widow for so long until Klein _finally_ mentioned that he was _courting_ her of all things." Weiss was slightly exasperated.

"Yeah, everyone's just used to calling her Mrs. Peach, so I can see how that's misleading." Nora said while the group walked the familiar route towards home.

Blake smiled, "I'm just glad Klein found someone and settled down in the area."

"And now he's married of all things." Weiss giggled, she remembered that spring wedding a year ago, "I will say that I've never seen him look more ecstatic in his life."

"I've always been curious, has Klein married before?" Blake pondered, the man rarely talked about his younger years.

Weiss looked on ahead, "Yeah, but it ultimately ended in a divorce. Ever since then he had taken up serving the Schnee family for so long."

"I'm glad it worked out in the end for him." Nora hummed merrily.

"Hey Nora!" Oscar came trotting down the road, "Weiss, Blake, how's your days going?" He slowed for a moment.

"We're doing alright, you dropped off some mail today?" Weiss answered the young messenger.

"Yup, Ren and Yang were home so I dropped it off to them." He looked up ahead at the road, "I'll see you guys around, I gotta finish up."

"Will do, see you around!" Nora waved him off, "He wants to be a Huntsman." She beamed proudly.

"I'm sure Yang filled his head with plenty of stories, Oum knows she loves recounting her _regaling travels and Hunts_ to anyone who listens." Weiss rolled her eyes, "Especially when you get her drunk."

"You're pretty bold when you drink too, Weiss." Blake poked fun at the woman.

"Sh-shush." Weiss usually took care to not drink too much, but the few moments that she didn't she would make an absolute fool of herself – her friends wouldn't let her live it down for while either.

"I like drunk Weiss, drunk Weiss is a blast!" Nora proclaimed.

"Of course you do…" The banker grumbled. "I'm just glad that Octavia has a remedy for hangovers," The woman took her medical knowledge and expertise and found a job with the medical center in town. Octavia's extensive practice made her become the Kingdom's favorite medic to seek out whenever anyone suffered a severe laceration or broken bone.

Nora's home came up first, and she bid the group farewell, Weiss and Blake waved her off and the two continued down the path, they were only a couple more minutes down the road.

"Happy that Yang's home?" Weiss looked to her friend, the Huntress came back the day before after her Hunt.

Blake nodded, "Yeah, despite how she may stretch the details of her old hunts, it still worries me whenever she'll take one up."

"Yang did say that she's only taking up local hunts now and only if they've been sitting on the board for so long." Weiss recalled, "She may as well just get a solid job with the City Guard, they love it whenever she comes around to help with training or even just keeping the peace."

"She's been thinking about it." Blake smiled to herself, "It would definitely give me some peace of mind, now I know what it was like when we all up and left for the war."

A grim smile, "Yeah…"

Blake frowned, "I didn't mean to bring up something nerve-wracking."

"No, it's quite alright." Weiss looked down the road at their home, "But it was stressful, not knowing at the time whether or not everyone would come home."

"Yeah… coming home..." Amber eyes caught sight of those familiar blonde locks that waved to them from the front yard.

Weiss smiled at the sight, she truly loved this home and thought it to be the most beautiful place to ever live in. The wooden farmhouse that she _helped to build_ (albeit, with heavy guidance and instruction) looked breath taking against the trees of the Forever Fall forest. The small garden in front framed their wooden home nicely and the wooden bench made for a perfect place to read when it wasn't too hot out.

The backyard was equally beautiful, they even built a wooden table for the occasion of having their meals outdoors instead of inside.

And today looked like it would be a perfect time to eat outside.

Yang had already gotten dinner started, chicken potpie was what Weiss smelled through out their home as she soon as she walked in. She was grateful the brute knew her way around sword and spatula.

"We got mail? We ran into Oscar on the way in." They were setting out the potpies on the table outside, Blake grabbed the pitcher of lemonade and cups for everyone.

Yang nodded, "Yeah, the guys sent us a letter from Menagerie. Pyrrha wrote all of us a letter, and Winter sent one in as well." She listed off, "And Bo sent something too."

Weiss nodded her head, "Winter might be coming into town again, she's usually pretty good about sending letters before sailing in."

"Oh joy, Ice Queen times two." Yang joked, Blake punched her lightly in the arm.

"You like it when Winter comes over." Blake rolled her eyes, "Because Penny isn't too far behind."

"She makes for a great drinking buddy." Yang had an air of mischief about her.

"You almost _burned down_ the old cottage you brute!" Weiss accused.

"But we put it out!" Yang retaliated.

"Alright, settle down before the food gets cold." Blake chastised, she already began taking bites out of her food.

Now that everyone was home, they could finally start eating dinner.

Right as Yang started to take a bite out of her food, she heard the door swing open from the front. The Huntress flashed her eyes to Blake and Weiss, she grabbed the knife from the table and walked into the home, cautious to not make any noise in order to avoid alarming whoever it was that was in their home.

She treaded lightly, creeping around a corner to get a view of the living room and front entrance – who ever had the balls to try and _trespass_ their home would pay dearly.

"Yang, it's just me."

Yang let out a sigh, "I didn't realize."

A light chuckle, "I am a few days early." The _trespasser_ was dressed in the City Guard uniform, dark trousers, dark green tunic and a leather vest with the Valesian emblem emblazed on the back – she still wore the dark green cloak that signified her time as scout.

Weiss Rose shot past Yang and into the arms of her loving wife.

Ruby Rose had come early from her trip to Patch.

"I missed you." Weiss whispered into Ruby's shoulder, she wasn't ready to let go just yet.

"I missed you too." Ruby wrapped both of her arms around her loving wife. She was gone for three weeks helping to stand up a new contingent of City Guards on Patch. The small town had grown a lot since the end of the war and this new era of peace. The money the Kingdom would spend on wars was being focused now on the city and citizens.

But idle hands make for the devil's work, it was an inherent problem through out any kingdom – ranging from petty crimes to violent murders, the City Guard was in charge of keeping the peace.

Something Ruby liked doing and upholding.

Weiss finally let go, Yang patted the banker on the back before giving her little sister a giant bear hug. Blake joined in too after she heard the commotion going on inside.

"Welcome home, Ruby." Blake smiled at the woman.

"Thanks, Blake." Ruby rubbed the Faunus back before taking a step away from the huddle.

"Anything interesting happen?" Ruby smelled the potpie wafting through the air and immediately her stomach growled.

"We were just about to dig in, thankfully I made some extra potpie." Yang began to fix a plate to take to the table outside. "Go ahead and make yourself comfy, I'll bring your food out."

"Thanks, sis." Ruby smiled at her older sister, she reached for the clasp to take her cloak off and then for her sword belt.

Weiss sat on Ruby's right side so that she could hold her hand while the two ate, there was definitely some nice advantages to Ruby being left-handed. "You have some mail for you, I left it on the desk in the study downstairs."

"Anything from Bo?" Ruby asked, her mouth salivating as she watched Yang bring her plate out, Blake already offered her a cup of lemonade.

"He sent a letter today, the ones in your study are from Pyrrha and Jaune." Weiss exclaimed, the gold band on her left hand gleamed in the sunlight while she held her wife's hand.

"Got it." Ruby took a sip of her lemonade, "I mentioned it in passing before I left to Yang, but Bo mentioned something about him taking a trip out here for a bit."

"On Sun's anniversary?" Yang was referring to the day Sun had passed, Bo, Octavia, and all the guys were really good about coming out here on this day every year. Even Jaune and Pyrrha came out once.

The day was anything but morbid, if anything it was a celebration because everyone would meet up in Vale and then sail out to Patch together for a few days. They would eat good food and drink good wine and ale while telling stories of what's been going on in their lives since they all saw each other. And then they would all head out on their own time to pay respects.

Usually Ruby and Bolin would start it off by heading up to Sun's grave together first.

The day was coming up in a couple weeks. That's probably why the guys sent a letter too.

"Yeah, I already requested it off." Ruby nodded, "You guys don't mind if Bo is here with his family?"

"Well, we did build this place big enough to host people." Blake joked, "Of course we don't mind, it's been forever since we've seen him. I know he's been busy with his new position as Councilman."

Ruby nodded, "A lot of hard work, but he likes it a lot. The city has come together nicely too, apparently the rebuilding effort has made a lot of progress."

Weiss nodded, she's heard stories about how much the city was ravaged.

Especially the story about the Great Stone Coliseum catching fire and being partially destroyed from all the fighting, no one knew for sure if it was the fault of the Usurper's army, the former slaves, or the coalition of forces that had come to retake the Kingdom – there were so many conflicting stories.

"I was actually thinking about visiting Mistral once Bo leaves here."

Yang dropped her spoon, she looked up at her sister, "Really?"

Ruby nodded, "Yeah, Bo says they built a memorial near the old Arena and carved the names of everyone who died in the war…" She wanted to see it.

"Well, if you go, then I'm going too." Yang resumed eating, "It's been a minute and I'm interested in seeing what the port looks like now."

"Bo says it looks a lot different from what we remember of it." Ruby mentioned.

"I wouldn't mind take a little trip outside the kingdom." Blake let out casually, she flicked her amber eyes up to the banker, "What do you think Weiss?"

She had been a little quiet since Ruby mentioned the possibility of going Mistral.

Weiss took a deep breath, "I think I'll go too… I'm interested in what the Villa – or at least what's happened to the Villa."

"I'm sure Bo wouldn't mind having us over, he lives in a pretty big place of his own now." Ruby reassured Weiss by giving her hand a slight squeeze, "We can take our time."

"Yeah." Weiss smiled back at her loving wife, "That would be nice."

Ruby took a look around, the spring sun wasn't going to set for a few more hours which made dinners outside that much more pleasant. She watched Yang plant a soft kiss on Blake's cheek and the Faunus beamed lovingly back at her. The sunflowers they had growing in back came up to the bottom of Ruby's chin.

The City Guard Captain took a deep breathe of the spring air, she could smell the daisies, the lavenders, the tulips, and the sap that wafted from the trees of the Forever Fall forest. They would tap a few trees for the delicious sap that they would smatter on to pancakes, usually it would accompanied by fresh butter that Klein and Mrs. Sieben would churn.

Weiss silently observed the woman next to her, she bore a small grin on her face when she watched Ruby open her eyes.

Those beautiful silver eyes that shined so vibrantly.

Ruby looked down at her wife and caught her staring, Weiss giggled once she saw Ruby shoot a playful glare at her, she leaned up to the Captain and pressed her lips against those delectable ones. The two smiled into the kiss before pulling away, Ruby gazing ever so tenderly at her wife and the surrounding area.

The grass wasn't sand.

The forest wasn't an arena.

The crowd wasn't cheering her name in a frenzy.

The Valesian breeze that blew around her.

The flowers that decorated the ground beneath her.

Eyes glowed like steel in a fiery forge.

Yang – her sister once lost and now found.

Blake – a life long friend.

Weiss – her whole word.

The weary Gladiator smiled – Oum had given her the judgment of life.

So live on, Ruby.

* * *

 **A/N**

And they lived happily ever after.

With this, Gladiator is officially done.

I absolutely can not say it enough, but thank you to everyone who has stuck with me on this journey and a huge thank you to everyone who have left me with so many words of advice. I really do take into account everything you guys send me and try to apply the best I can to my future work, because at the end of the day I want to be a better story teller for all those who want to read these adventures that I'll dream up in my day-to-day life.

This has been an incredible journey and by far a crowning personal achievement for me. Once again, a most heartfelt thank you to everyone who has supported me so far - I truly could not have done this without every single one of you.

So what's next?

I'm going to finish up Our Playlist (an angsty Bumblebee short... I know, lots of angst coming from my corner of FF ^-^;) I'm experimenting with some writing styles in that one and it's serving as a stepping point to help cage myself from the White Rose perspective to the Bumblebee one. After Our Playlist is done I'll move on to my next big project - _**Public Enemies**_ (I've decided to stick with the trope of using movies as titles for my big projects) a mob style Bumblebee fic that will take place in Vacuo. Outline is still in the works, but expect to see this story get published some time at the beginning of summer. More than likely, I'll do what I did in my last short story and drop a teaser in the last chapter of Our Playlist (mostly because I haven't started writing it just yet).

I hope you enjoyed this little adventure I've written here.

I'll see you when I see you, until then, take care and keep on reading (or even writing) stories you love.

 _"There is no greater agony than bearing an untold story inside you." -_ Maya Angelou

Cheers to all of you,

DevilRed


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